A pretty stupid ad

Rob Galsavo. Photo / Michael Craig

An Auckland business wants staff to sell icecream - but they preferably need to be female, foreign and pretty.

An ad for the $13-an-hour job at The Strawberry Farm in Mangere required applicants to be fast and hard working but also indicated looks were important. Posted this week on backpackers.co.nz, the ad invited "girls" to text in a photo with their age and nationality.

"Those who do not send photo will be not selected. Good looks will be an advantage," the advertisement, listed by Rob Galsavo, read.

When approached by the Herald on Sunday, Galsavo denied any wrong-doing. "Why are good looks an advantage? I don't know. It's not discrimination, you're talking to customers," he said.

Galsavo said the shop already had several male employees and he was looking for girls to even the numbers.

The Human Rights Act 1993 protects New Zealanders from discrimination based on gender, nationality and age. However appearance-based discrimination is not covered.

The Strawberry Farm owner Jarrod Young said the ad was not checked before it went online. It was removed by Friday afternoon. "It shouldn't have happened. I'm horrified," Young said.