4 ms·

I can understand completely why the ads were banned. Mind you, I'm female myself. Most female developers simply do not look as 'picture-perfect' as the one Top

I can understand completely why the ads were banned. Mind you, I'm female myself. Most female developers simply do not look as 'picture-perfect' as the one Toptal decided to use in their ads or at least not at work. That particular photograph looks too staged and is not particularly suggestive that it was shot to be used in a technical career context. Toptal chose an outlier to represent the majority and that is dishonest to the user population targeted by the ad. Florencia, the developer pictured in the ad should've supplied different pictures or the company should've asked for them itself, preferably pictures with more work-appropriate clothing, like a t-shirt, shirt or blouse of some sort. I seriously doubt any female programmer goes to work in that sort of attire, not only it would be over the top in 99% of the cases, it would be damn uncomfortable.

rdouble 13y ago
When I worked at fashion startups in New York, women did wear outfits like this, including the engineers. The engineer in question is in Buenos Aires where both sexes tend to have a bit more flair.
- pallandt 13y ago
  I think this would fit the reserved 1% of the cases and would be perfectly acceptable and probably even encouraged. I imagine an otherwise wide gap in type of attire could create possible tension in the work group, of varied nature.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    It could, but to me it looks to me like a normal outfit a 20 something woman would wear in Manhattan. This reminds me of working with crotchety gen-X and above sysadmins. They complain about "hipsters" but the people they are talking about are wearing standard issue clothes from the mall that everyone in that age bracket wears. They don't realize that wearing a "JavaConf 1999" fleece, bat-belt, cargo shorts and Tevas is not what other people consider normal work attire.
- 14113 13y ago
  Key point here: Fashion startup. I'm not trying to argue that women never dress like that anywhere else, but I think you've got a very skewed viewpoint.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    I agree that it's probably not something a Cisco engineer would be wearing, but it seems like a normal 20-something outfit in Manhattan.
greenyoda 13y ago
In many companies, developers have to dress "professionally", especially if they work in parts of the office where customers might show up. Where I work, t-shirts are not considered to be work-appropriate clothing, even for developers.
- pallandt 13y ago
  That's why I didn't stop at 't-shirt' and the other options I mentioned are approximately progressively more 'professional'. While I do understand your point, I hope you understand that I was arguing in regards to the article's content and the position of that particular person, that of developer/programmer/etc. They were/are not a receptionist, a member of the executive board or even account manager, all of which let's assume could wear that without issue at work.
anigbrowl 13y ago
Florencia's picture on her own profile is a bit more casual: http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara
auctiontheory 13y ago
Toptal chose an outlier to represent the majority and that is dishonest to the user population I don't think this is a valid objection. Just about every print or video or TV ad I've ever seen (for any product or service) uses good-looking outliers to represent the typical user. And in many cases, unlike this case, the models in the ads are ... actors. Not actual users (of cigarettes, or McDonald's, or Windows 8) at all.
- pallandt 13y ago
  So is it socially accepted or even expected to be dishonest in all situations then? :)
incision 13y ago
>"Most female developers simply do not look as 'picture-perfect' as the one Toptal decided to use in their ads or at least not at work." That depends, I did some work in a place with a large contingent of developers from post-Soviet states. Every one of them, men and women dressed to the nines pretty much every day. ">That particular photograph looks too staged and is not particularly suggestive that it was shot to be used in a technical career context." Does it really look any more staged than the typical technology advertising photo of a group of attractive, widely smiling people looking thoughtful or excited about the contents of an unseen display?
njharman 13y ago
The picture on her actual toptal page would have been much better all around. http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara

rdouble 13y ago

When I worked at fashion startups in New York, women did wear outfits like this, including the engineers. The engineer in question is in Buenos Aires where both sexes tend to have a bit more flair.

pallandt 13y ago
I think this would fit the reserved 1% of the cases and would be perfectly acceptable and probably even encouraged. I imagine an otherwise wide gap in type of attire could create possible tension in the work group, of varied nature.
- rdouble 13y ago
  It could, but to me it looks to me like a normal outfit a 20 something woman would wear in Manhattan. This reminds me of working with crotchety gen-X and above sysadmins. They complain about "hipsters" but the people they are talking about are wearing standard issue clothes from the mall that everyone in that age bracket wears. They don't realize that wearing a "JavaConf 1999" fleece, bat-belt, cargo shorts and Tevas is not what other people consider normal work attire.
14113 13y ago
Key point here: Fashion startup. I'm not trying to argue that women never dress like that anywhere else, but I think you've got a very skewed viewpoint.
- rdouble 13y ago
  I agree that it's probably not something a Cisco engineer would be wearing, but it seems like a normal 20-something outfit in Manhattan.

greenyoda 13y ago

In many companies, developers have to dress "professionally", especially if they work in parts of the office where customers might show up. Where I work, t-shirts are not considered to be work-appropriate clothing, even for developers.

pallandt 13y ago
That's why I didn't stop at 't-shirt' and the other options I mentioned are approximately progressively more 'professional'. While I do understand your point, I hope you understand that I was arguing in regards to the article's content and the position of that particular person, that of developer/programmer/etc. They were/are not a receptionist, a member of the executive board or even account manager, all of which let's assume could wear that without issue at work.

anigbrowl 13y ago

Florencia's picture on her own profile is a bit more casual: http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara

auctiontheory 13y ago

Toptal chose an outlier to represent the majority and that is dishonest to the user population I don't think this is a valid objection. Just about every print or video or TV ad I've ever seen (for any product or service) uses good-looking outliers to represent the typical user. And in many cases, unlike this case, the models in the ads are ... actors. Not actual users (of cigarettes, or McDonald's, or Windows 8) at all.

pallandt 13y ago
So is it socially accepted or even expected to be dishonest in all situations then? :)

incision 13y ago

>"Most female developers simply do not look as 'picture-perfect' as the one Toptal decided to use in their ads or at least not at work." That depends, I did some work in a place with a large contingent of developers from post-Soviet states. Every one of them, men and women dressed to the nines pretty much every day. ">That particular photograph looks too staged and is not particularly suggestive that it was shot to be used in a technical career context." Does it really look any more staged than the typical technology advertising photo of a group of attractive, widely smiling people looking thoughtful or excited about the contents of an unseen display?

njharman 13y ago

The picture on her actual toptal page would have been much better all around. http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara http://www.toptal.com/resume/florencia-antara