Providing Diversity and Equality at the Workplace - Assignment Example

INTRODUCTION This paper is about “Equality and Diversity” as it relates to the everyday life in terms of social, political and economic contexts within which all of us operate. I critique an article from the Guardian website titled, “Call for anonymous CVs to stop job interview sexism and racism” that appeared in the Money section on the 1st of January 2010. The URL of the article is provided in the sources section of this paper. In this paper, I focus on why the idea of having anonymous CV’s makes sense from the perspective of providing diversity and equality at the workplace. It is a well known fact that in much of the developed world, there are laws that mandate equal opportunity as well as prohibition of discriminatory practices on the basis of gender and race. However, there is enough evidence that in reality, most of these practices continue unchecked. Whether the employers are following the laws only in letter and not in spirit is the question. From the perspective of social justice and diversity, it is indeed the case that active discrimination exists. The so-called “glass ceiling” is a term that is used to describe the limits to the career growth of a woman in the corporate world. Similarly, racial profiling and discrimination are abhorrent instances where people of a specific ethnic race are discriminated against. The article in question is about how anonymous CV’s or those CV’s where the name and the gender of the applicant including the race are not mentioned on the CV in order for the applicants not to be rejected before they can be called for interview. (Paul, 2006) ANALYSIS OF THE ARTICLE In this section, I analyse the article from the viewpoint of whether it is a good starting point in the quest for equality and diversity. The article certainly is free of biases and the writer explains the rationale behind suggesting anonymous CV’s. As the introduction to the article makes it clear, “Race advisers and equality campaigners have called on the government to make "anonymous" CVs and job applications compulsory to overcome discrimination against women and people with African or Asian surnames. Some British companies have already begun stripping out personal details so those deciding who to invite for interview are only told about their qualifications and experience, and not their ethnicity, gender or age.” (Williams and Bates, 2010). As a point of departure from the articles about equality and diversity, this article certainly is worth considering on the merits of its arguments. The writers leave their prejudices and heuristics behind and present the material in an even and balanced manner. The article makes a strong pitch for equality in recruitment by proposing anonymous CV’s as a means of avoiding gender and racial bias towards the prospective applicants. The article makes use of research and data that point to the widespread practice of “screening out” applicants with foreign sounding names as well as female applicants. As the article points out, “Researchers commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions sent nearly 3,000 applications for 987 vacancies under false identities, using the names Nazia Mahmood, Mariam Namagembe and Alison Taylor. Each had similar experience and qualifications, and had British education and work histories. But the results, published earlier this year, showed that applicants who appeared to be white had to send nine applications before receiving an invitation to interview or an encouraging telephone call while candidates with the "foreign" sounding names had to send 16 applications before receiving a similar response.” (Williams and Bates, 2010). It has to be mentioned that articles such as these promote the principles of equality and diversity and particularly in this case, the media can be said to be playing a positive and constructive role as a medium of transformation and social change. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, RACIAL AND GENDER BIAS The reason for such an article to make the case for an anonymous CV is because of the widespread practice of denying opportunities to racial and ethnic minorities. Though this trend is prevalent worldwide, in UK, it has become serious enough to warrant notice by the government. The UK, with its “melting pot” of ethnic and racial minorities can ill afford to discriminate against these groups as by doing so, the companies would be exacerbating already existing social tensions. (Babiak, 2006) As the article points out, “The governments ethnic minority taskforce is due to report in the New Year on the findings of research commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions which uncovered widespread racial discrimination against workers with African and Asian names.” (Williams and Bates, 2010) Hence, it is apparent that the government is seized of the issue and is taking some steps to redress the same. There is no doubt that equality and diversity in the workplace is much needed if the society is to harness the energies of its diverse groups in a constructive manner. With the increasing number of women joining the workforce, it is becoming clear that equality of opportunity as well as rewards is much needed. Further, diversity of the workforce needs to reflect the composition of the society to prevent the emergence of “ghetto” mentality. (Freedman, 2008) Equal opportunity is mandated by law and though companies find clever means to get around it, the fact remains that it is the social and moral responsibility of corporates to follow this law both in letter and in spirit. Merely paying lip service to this by hiring a “token” number of employees from an ethnic minority and filling up the rest from the majority groups is not enough. Further, hiring people from ethnic minorities in non-critical functions is bad as well. The usual explanation given by the companies is that they could not find suitable people from these groups who were qualified enough to be hired in these positions. Hence, the practice of anonymous CV’s as proposed in the article is a welcome step towards ensuring that racial and ethnic minorities get their due in the workplace. And it does not stop at this. Workplace harassment of ethnic minorities by way of racially motivated statements and targeted discrimination as well as sexual harassment are examples of how the principles of equality and diversity in the workplace are subverted. REVERSE DISCRIMINATION Till now, we have discussed instances of how the lofty ideals of diversity and equality are subverted because of discrimination that is actively practiced. However, there exist cases of reverse discrimination as well where the same category (race, gender) of applicants who have been denied job opportunities have been given a chance not because of merit but because of their gender. In my personal experience, I have been recounted instances of female applicants getting the go-ahead in the CV short listing round by recruiters who favour looks and gender over merit. (Skalak, 2005) This happens in many cases where the applicants are favoured over other deserving candidates because the recruiters wanted someone who “looks good” rather than someone who “works well”. These instances are the examples of reverse discrimination that routinely happens in many organisations. Hence, the move to have anonymous CV’s is surely a step in the right direction as it would not only eliminate discrimination but also reverse discrimination. The practice of affirmative action is another example of what critics like to portray as reverse discrimination. However, the practice has found acceptance mainly because of the potential for social justice that it offers to hitherto discriminated minorities. The people who decry this practice point to the fact that “two wrongs cannot make one right” line of reasoning. The point here is that in the quest for justice, one cannot create another class of disadvantaged people just to redress the wrongs committed previously on one category of people. WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE After having discussed the negative aspects of discrimination as well as the prevalence of reverse discrimination, the question arises to what constitutes fair play in recruitment and provision of opportunities for ethnic minorities. In my opinion, “blind” CV’s or those where the racial and gender details are removed is a good enough way to start the process of placing merit before anything else. Since corporates, unlike the Public Sector, pride themselves on their efficiency, it would be a good idea to treat recruitment on merit alone. (Goleman, 2001) The practice of having people send in CV’s like these would make the process of recruitment give a fair chance to everyone and a level playing field. Mostly, subconscious biases and prejudices (even in the professedly liberal people) would tend to be obviated when anonymous CV’s are screened. Though one cannot guarantee subsequent employment, at least it would ensure that all candidates start at the same point. CONCLUSION The proposed idea of sending in anonymous CV’s marks the first step towards recruitment that is “blind” to racial and gender bias and would go a long way in promoting the concepts of equality and diversity at the workplace. Hence, the article is a definite plus towards the principles of social justice. In conclusion, the point needs to be made is that merit and merit alone needs to be the criteria for recruitment and biases and heuristics (intentional or otherwise) need to be eliminated. Further, discrimination for and against a particular gender or race should be discouraged. Sources Bates, Stephen and Williams, Rachel.(2010). Call for Anonymous CV’s. Guardian Website. Available from: . [Accessed Jan 21 2010] “The Corporation as Psychopath” Babiak, P., & Hare, R.D. The B-Scan 360: Research Version. Toronto, Ontario: Multi-Health Systems, 2005. “Corporate Fraud in the Boardroom” Skalak, S., Nestler, C., & Bussmann, K. Global Economic Crime Survey, 2005. PricewaterhouseCoopers Paul Babiak, and Robert D. Hare. (2006) Snakes in Suits. New York: Harper Collins. Freedman, Esteele B. (2008) No Turning Back. London: Ballantine Books. Goleman, Daniel (2001) Emotionally Intelligent Workplace. London: John Wiley and Sons. Read More