A trans woman has reported Nobu to Malaysia’s human rights watchdog, claiming she was offered a job but only if she acted and dressed like a man.
Shairazi Bahari was interviewed for a front of house position at the Kuala Lumpar branch of the restaurant in November 2017.
Questions about ‘gender expression’
She applied for the position after a decade away from her home country working in top restaurants in Sydney
She sent an email after her interview admitting there had been questions about her ‘gender expression’ during the interview.
However, she assured them she was a committed professional.
Chain had issue with Trans woman’s ‘appearance’
Bahari said the interview initially went well. But towards the end, she faced questions about how she would ‘conform’ to the chain’s dress code.
Speaking to the Guardian, Bahari said she then received a phone call the next day from the company’s HR department.
‘I got a call from the HR lady where she was telling me that they were really keen on hiring me, but they had issue with my appearance, and would I consider the offer with the condition that I cut my hair, wear a male uniform and use the male toilets,’ she said.
‘I don’t think they wanted anything like that in writing so they gave me a phone call.’
However, a Malaysian HR executive at Nobu told the Guardian that Bahari was simply not qualified for the job.
‘The candidate did not match our requirement and therefore was not successful,’ said Vriesia Ng.
An investigation is ongoing.
