Czech Republic’s Temelin Nuclear Power Station Apologizes For Holding Bikini Contest To Hire Interns

A nuclear power station in the Czech Republic issued an apology after receiving flak for holding a bikini contest to hire interns, according to reports Monday. Social media users blamed the power station for giving importance to looks over qualification and knowledge while hiring interns.

Last week, on its Facebook page, power generation conglomerate CEZ Group posted pictures of 10 high school graduates posing in bikinis at cooling towers at Temelin nuclear power plant, which is located in the country's South Bohemian region. Along with the post, the company wrote the woman with the highest number of likes would be crowned "Miss Energy 2017" and get to work as an intern at the company for two weeks.

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"We think photographs are very tasteful," the company wrote in a comment on the Facebook post, according to a Monday report by CNN. "The combination of beauty and the industrial environment gives an interesting result," the comment further read.

However, people were not too happy with the contest and severely criticized the company for hosting such a competition. "Undress and you get an internship - this can not be serious, it's degrading, disgusting and primitive," one Facebook user commented on the post, according to Deutsche Welle.

"Knowledge obviously does not matter," another user reportedly posted a comment.

“At a time when the company is finally starting to move towards the fact that women are not judged on appearance once aspiring to choose an internship, it now depends on how she looks in a bathing suit?” one user reportedly commented.

"The competition is absolutely outside the bounds of ethics. In 2017, I find it incredible that someone could gain a professional advantage for their good looks," Petra Havlíková, a lawyer for human rights nonprofit Nesehnutí and an equal opportunities adviser, told a local news outlet, according to Deutsche Welle.

"You find the number of likes under the half-naked picture of a young lady as adequate and/or tasteful criterion for a career opportunity that is promoted as 'professional?'" one Facebook user reportedly commented on the post.

While some criticized the initiative, others questioned why men were not allowed to participate in the contest.

CEZ Group had reportedly likened the bikini photo shoot to its cultural enrichment programs such as hosting the Bohemian Philharmonic at the plant. The conglomerate also said the women enjoyed the shoot. However, after being criticized for the contest, the power station issued an apology and said it would offer internships to all the 10 participants.

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"The purpose of the competition was to promote technical education," the power station said in a Facebook post. "But if the original vision raised doubts or concerns, we are very sorry," the post further read.

According to the Deutsche Welle report, Temelin power plant is not the first to such a contest. In the past, Russia too organized a beauty contest for women working in nuclear industries or studying in nuclear-related subjects in the country and former Soviet Union countries. Women aged between 18 and 45 would pose in front of a nuclear power plant, it was reported.