BOSTON (AP) – A library assistant at Harvard University testified Tuesday that she was shocked when her supervisor told her she wasn’t getting the promotions she’s applied for at the Ivy League school because she was seen as “just a pretty girl” who wore sexy outfits.

Desiree Goodwin’s testimony came on the first day of a trial in her employment discrimination lawsuit against Harvard.

Goodwin, who has worked as a library assistant at Harvard since 1994, claims in her lawsuit that she has applied for 16 better library jobs at the university since 1999, but has been rejected each time. She claims Harvard has passed her over because of race and/or gender discrimination. Goodwin is black.

Goodwin said she was stunned when her supervisor told her how some people who worked in the library system at Harvard viewed her. “She said, They see you as just a pretty girl,’ ” Goodwin said.

She said her supervisor told her that another library supervisor had told her she had seen Goodwin in “some of your sexier outfits” and had said, “I’d never hire her.”

“She particularly mentioned tight pants and low-cut tops,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin said her supervisor also told her, “You really should apply outside of Harvard because the first thing employers look for is a qualified black person.”

Harvard officials deny discriminating against Goodwin.

In opening statements at the trial Tuesday, Harvard attorney Richard Riley told the jury that Goodwin’s supervisors encouraged her, helped her with her resume and recommended her for positions within and outside of Harvard.

But he said that for each job Goodwin applied for, Harvard received applications from dozens of other qualified applicants from across the country.

“The competition is fierce for all of the library positions at Harvard,” Riley said.

He said Harvard conducted a “fair and rational process” for choosing candidates for each of the jobs Goodwin sought. He said the individual libraries to which she applied made autonomous hiring decisions.

“It was a fair process that was followed,” he said.

“At the end of the case, the evidence is going to show that no decision that was made … was remotely related to the issue of race or gender,” Riley said.

Goodwin’s claims were dismissed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Her lawsuit is being heard in federal court.

Goodwin, 40, told the jury she overcame a childhood marked by poverty and a chaotic family life to attend Cornell University, then Boston College and Simmons College, earning a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees – one in library science.

Along the way, she developed a love for books and a desire to become a professional librarian.

Goodwin’s lawyer, Jonathan Margolis, said Goodwin was puzzled by her repeated rejections at Harvard because she had “superlative” job appraisals and commendations from her supervisors.

Margolis told the jury Goodwin’s lawsuit is “not about Affirmative Action.”

“It’s about equality,” he said.

“It’s about having a fair chance – specifically a fair chance to advance in Miss Goodwin’s chosen career.”