What's in a name?
An interesting article appeared in the Sunday Times today - here is an extract and a link to the full article in case anyone wants to read it.
"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has just sent out bogus CVs in response to a thousand job vacancies. In every case it sent one application with a name that sounded British and white and one application with a name that sounded as if it was from an ethnic minority.
The fake applicants had near-identical qualifications and experience. Yet, 44 years after the Race Relations Act outlawed discrimination on the grounds of race, the imaginary white applicants were significantly more likely to be given interviews than the imaginary nonwhite ones"
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6638377.ece
Questions :
Do HR professionals and recruitment consultants try to put forward candidates that they think their clients/customers will be more "comfortable" with - does this explain the DWP survey?
Do recruiting departments drop hints about the kind of candidates they want to interview (Male, White, not over 50, someone without kids who can travel long distances at the drop of a hat etc etc).
Do certain ethnic minorities have qualities/characteristics that make them less suitable for some jobs?
And lastly, do most companies really value diversity in their workplace?
Answers (8)
Bryan C W
Seeking a marketing, sales management or senior sales role in a technology-based company. http://twitter.com/BryanCWebb
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Another reason to avoid Video Resumes too...
Judy B. M
Marketing Communications, B2B Specialist, Business Writer and Editor
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Quelle surprise. Prejudice is with us still. That's why I'm often leery of recruiters' emphasis on 'fit.' If you think about it, that illusive quality also serves as a form of discrimination, undermining well-meaning diversity policies rather than supporting them.
Martin T
Expert in developing businesses; especially internationally or into new spaces, with complex stakeholder management.
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Versions of this have been done many times in several countries. results are always the same. THERE IS PREJUDICE.
It's deeply ingrained in human nature and isn't going away anytime soon. i don't know how to fix it but i do know legislation makes little difference.
Cheryl R
President at Cheryl Roshak Associates
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Jon, I will answer your questions exactly in order without making wide statements about prejudice in the workplace, because there is and there isn't, it works both ways by the way.
1. Recruitment professionals always try to put forward candidates that they think their clients will be more 'comfortable' with for two reasons and this does not explain the DWP survey. If a client has to choose between two similarly qualified candidates they will always choose the candidate they are more comfortable with and like better, it's a proven fact. And as recruiters are paid only for the placements they make, they want their clients to be happy and choose their candidate. So the recruiter is quite familiar with the company culture and temperature.
2. Of course they drop hints, and it works in many ways. Sometimes they want to increase their minority employee count and hint at that. Sometimes they say the department has too many men or too much testosterone and would welcome a female greatly. Sometimes they say the head of the department is a screamer and they need someone who can handle that type of personality, not a wilting lily. And they will be up front about travel, if the job requires 50% travel, then you have to tell that to the candidate up front and let him or her make the decision if they want that kind of commitment in their job. Some like it, some don't or can't do it.
3. No, not at all. It all depends on education, skills and experience. If anyone has the stuff to break into a field with the right set of tools, and has the smarts and tenacity to fight the fight, any ethnic minority can probably do any job that a white person can. Not every white person can do every job without certain qualifications, nor can every minority do every job without certain qualifications.
There is prejudice in the world, we see it all over in many ways. Why do you think we have wars? What affirmative action is all about is trying to minimize discrimination that is blatant in the workplace. A good recruiter or HR professional that is worth their salt will look for education, skills, talent and experience first, who is the best qualified person to fill this job. Then from that pool comes who are the better fits for the job, who is most likely to succeed in that job on a multitude of levels. It's all not cut and dried. Or that easy. That's why we're paid the big bucks to be honest. I hope this answers some of your questions.
Cheryl
Charles C
Founder - Community Commerce Centers Initiative
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External and internal recruiters will consistently state that they present the "best" candidates, but in more cases than anybody would care to accept the truth is that the "safest" candidate is being presented.
The definition of "safest" may vary from case to case, but in every case the main concern is more likely to whether or not a commission is to be made or whether or not the recruiter's job is, itself, on the line.
There are so many issues that impact these decisions, and things like diversity rarely gets to the top of the list.
FRANK F
—►CEO NorthStar —►Strategic Futurist ex-Banker = "A Future You Can Bank On!" —►Keynote Speaker
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There is racial profiling in every society.
But in the UK this does not surprise me.
Racial bigotry was one of the reasons I
was glad to leave the UK decades ago.
Sounds as if it has not changed.
Mary L
ReloMary --> Assembling your selling, buying, moving team
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I am not good at picking who would be good and who wouldn't be just by what is writeen on paper...I don't care what the name is.
It's interesting - when I'm shopping and the sales person comes to me and asks if they can help, often they can not. My response is, "Oh, I think I'll know it when I see it."
The qualities we're looking for in an article of clothing or a new hire sometimes cannot be put into words but are certainly known when the five senses land on it.
A name on paper along with a few choice words isn't going to tell me what I need to know. I need all my senses on the ground to figure out "the fit". The interaction will seal or break the deal.... It's got to work for the hiree as well as the hirer...
Links:
I recruit in North Wales where culture is not exactly diverse. We have a large Polish community who undertake manual labour, however I recruit office based personnel. I have registered a (small) number of ethnic minority candidates, however the 5ages here are much lower than the national average. In answer to your question, I actually find it really refreshing when someone does come here out of the area - I interviewed an American man and an American woman (unrelated) last week and having a broader, more "worldy-wise" work experience can actually be a USP for us here.
With regards to discrimination, some clients do have their preferences, a 50 year old woman may not fit into an office of 30 year old men, so things like this are considred, but noone is ever discoutned because of age, race etc.
I feel that equal opportunities is exactly that virtually 100% of the time
Clarification added 4 months ago:
5ages = %ages
