Lorna Jane highlights 'misconceptions' over vacancy advertisement for size small receptionist

Amid media and social media criticism, Australian active wear brand Lorna Jane has sought to clarify "misconceptions" about an advertisement seeking a ‘size small’ receptionist.

The global brand placed the advertisement, stipulating bust, hip, waist and height measurement requirements, on job-seeking website Seek last Friday (3rd July).

In the advertisement, the company said the successful applicant would work full-time, splitting hours between being a receptionist and assisting the design team with fittings of new garments.

While the majority of the job requirements related to being a receptionist, such as strong administration and computer skills, applicants were discouraged from applying if they were more full-bodied.

The vacancy advertisement stated "in order to accurately provide feedback on Lorna Jane products in a size small you must have the following measurements":

Bust: 87-90cm
Waist: 70-73cm
Hip (at widest point): 97-100cm
Height: 165cm or taller

Critics flooded the Lorna Jane Facebook page, arguing that women should not be judged on their appearance, leading the company to remove that vacancy yesterday.

A spokeswoman for company told Fairfax media that the advertisement was removed after less than two business days due to an overwhelming response, stating “the ad was removed from Seek this morning as we received a huge response, with a large number of applicants responding straight away to be part of our team.”

Negative comments on social media included:

"Sad for any suitably qualified girl whose dream job with you won't happen because the size of her body doesn't fit with your ridiculous so-called 'requirements'!" 

Another said that they believed the ‘fit model’ co-position was a ruse to get an attractive receptionist, suggesting “perhaps you ought not force your receptionists into 'fit model' roles in (an) attempt to only hire people of a certain size and gender.”

Lauren Neuro-Noopsie said the advertisement was pitched towards an attractive receptionist, stating “considering that we all really know that the role is CLEARLY only looking for a receptionist, it's good to see that your lawyers are protecting your unfortunately successful interests!"

Lorna Jane responded to criticism with a post on Facebook, making no mention of the receptionist role within the vacancy advertisement.

The company wrote "as the ad states, the position we are hoping to fill is for a 'fit model', which is an in-house model (specifically a size small) to assist with the fit of our activewear.

"A fit model ensures that we maintain consistency in our sizing across our entire range of different products.

"As you can imagine, we have a great variety of styles & fabrics and it is imperative that we keep our sizing as consistent as possible.

"Having a fit model allows us to do so.

"We hope this has clarified any misconceptions about our advertisement.

"We certainly pride ourselves on hiring healthy, active women of all different shapes & sizes, but as we hope you can understand, a fit model must have certain dimensions to help with our garment measurements."

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