Employers plan positive diversity recruitment

Employers in Britain are planning to more aggressively recruit gay, disabled, female and Asian workers in 2007 and 2008, a new poll reveals.

More than 215 hiring managers and 500 workers were surveyed for job site CareerBuilder.co.uk by Harris Interactive and 21 per cent said that they planned to enhance their recruitment process for women, 16 per cent for disabled workers, 13 per cent for Asian workers and gay/lesbian workers (eight per cent).

A quarter of employers polled (26 per cent) said that they planned to increase their staff numbers by more in the last six months of 2007 than the first, with nearly 49 per cent of bosses hiring more workers in the first half of the year.

Entitled 2007 UK Job Forecast, the study predicts that job growth in Britain will remain stable until the end of this year and employers will "remain committed to expanding the demographics of their staffs".

Dave Smith, Managing Director of CareerBuilder.co.uk. "UK employers will continue to struggle with a shrinking skilled labour force as Baby Boomers move closer to retirement and the smaller generations of replacement workers falls under quota."

The UK workforce can also expect to see employers become more creative in their recruitment and retention efforts, evident in higher salaries, increased training and more flexible work cultures."

A raft of new legislation protecting workers from age, racial, religious, gender and other forms of discrimination in Britain has highlighted the importance of workplace diversity in Britain.

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'Ginger' taunts about red hair could be next big form of workplace discrimination

A tribunal decision has prompted new fears that 'gingerism' could be the next big form of workplace discrimination.

Last week, a waitress was awarded £17,618 compensation for unfair dismissal over taunts about her red hair.

Sarah Primmer suffered a series of lewd and embarrassing comments and was eventually sacked from her job.

Personnel Today research earlier this year revealed 81% of readers thought it was acceptable to tease people about ginger hair.

A culture of 'lookism' is now emerging in the workplace, with gingers often the butt of office jokes, the survey said.

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Survey reveals workers take colleagues less seriously if they have an accent

It’s not what you say but how you say it that may cause judgement from your work colleagues, research has found.

A poll by hearing campaign Heal the World found that 15% of 4,000 respondents would take a work colleague less seriously if they had an accent, while 11% said an accent would influence whether or not they did business with them.

One-quarter of respondents said the Brummie accent was the most annoying, with a Scottish accent perceived as the most aggressive.
People who spoke the Queen’s English were thought to be the most intelligent, while seven in 10 respondents said it carried the most authority.

The Scouse accent was found to be the most untrustworthy according to one in three respondents, followed by Cockney, which received 22% of the votes.

Dr Glenn Wilson, a psychologist at Kings College, London, said: “Accents can play a huge role in our initial attitude towards others. This explains why some people are more likely to adapt their accent to avoid being stereotyped and to encourage a particular impression.”

“There are essentially two components to an accent – location and strength. The location of someone’s accent encourages particular stereotypes and we presume people with stronger accents are less intelligent and are educated to a lesser degree,” Wilson added.

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Lesbian and gay trends in the City

On the day the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) regulations come into force new research indicates how far the City has moved to overcome its traditional image as an inhospitable environment for gay and lesbian employees.

London is the unrivalled gay and lesbian capital of Europe and also the continent’s leading financial centre. The government estimates that 6% of the UK population is lesbian or gay. London’s population is nearer 10%, thanks to thriving gay scene.

Research carried out by financial services recruiter Joslin Rowe, surveyed 3,676 candidates for City roles and collated information on sexuality for diversity monitoring purposes over the last two years.

Two years ago, 5.9% of respondents anonymously identified themselves as gay or lesbian, but this had risen to 8.2% in the last twelve months as legislative changes and a diversity drive in the financial services industry encouraged more applicants.

These figures indicate that out of the 900,000 people working in banking, finance, and insurance in London, 73,800 are gay or lesbian.

Tara Ricks, Managing Director of Joslin Rowe Associates said: ‘Traditionally the City was perceived as white, heterosexual and male – which put off many gay and lesbian applicants."

"As a result, the proportion of gay and lesbian workers was far below the national average ten years ago - but it was extremely rare for firms to monitor their own performance in this area so it is difficult to benchmark quite how bad the situation was. Times have changed and diversity is now at the centre of recruitment and human resources policy."

"The City knows it must attract the best talent from all walks of life. Many firms now actively target gay undergraduates, for example, something that was not the case five or ten years ago. The trend has now seen City firms grow the proportion of their staff who are gay – up to 8.2% of the workforce and overtaking the current national average of 5.9%."

‘All the major investment banks now have gay networking groups and large sponsorship deals at gay events across the City . Across the industry, organisations such as Out in the City, the Interbank Gay and Lesbian Network and City Pink (which targets women only) provide opportunities for gay and lesbian employees to meet and mix. None of this existed five years ago. What’s more, investment banks now come top of Stonewall’s Corporate Equality Index as the best place to work for homosexual employees. Indeed, nine of the Top 25 organisations in the country are City firms .’

Although the City has narrowed the gap in the last four years, it still has some way to go.

There are 16,000 fewer gay or lesbian employees in the industry compared to the mix in London’s general population.

Furthermore, the extent to which people are ‘out’ in their firms is far smaller than the number who privately acknowledge that they are homosexual.

Arguably, City workers are more likely to keep their own counsel than those in other industries like the media with a traditionally more open attitude. This is particularly so for women. In Joslin Rowe’s research, women in the City were far less likely to identify themselves (even anonymously) than men as homosexual.

Tara Ricks said: ‘The City has made huge strides in recent years, but is still a challenging and competitive place to work. The reluctance of women to come out as lesbians possibly reflects the fact that women already feel they have to fight hard to maintain equality with men.’

‘Of course there is no reason why people should disclose their sexuality at work - it is irrelevant to their ability to do the job. In an ideal world we wouldn’t be counting anyone. But these are not exercises designed to label people. They have been created as positive tools to measure and encourage progress - rather than relying on mere compliance to drive change.’

This story was first published by Gay.com

Women’s minister Ruth Kelly spends £500,000 from Quality Part Time Work Fund in bid to reduce gender pay gap

Minister for women, Ruth Kelly, will grant nearly £500,000 to a number of organisations to create more quality part-time jobs at senior level, in an effort to reduce the gender pay gap.

The scheme comes a year after the Women and Work Commission report, which was commissioned by the prime minister to help women reach their full potential.

Royal Mail is one of the first beneficiaries - it was awarded £25,000 in funding from the Quality Part Time Work Fund. The company will need to match the grant to develop job-share and part-time managerial posts in two sorting office sites in London.

It aims to make 10% of management jobs on these sites part-time within 18 months.

Other successful bidders for the fund include Kelloggs, Tesco, three local authorities, Durham constabulary, and four voluntary sector organisations.

Kelly said: “The part-time pay gap is still too wide with women working part-time earning 40% less than men working full-time. Working with a range of employers across business, local government and the voluntary sector, we can kickstart the process of enabling more women to work part-time in senior posts.”

Small businesses under misconception of being fully compliant with age discrimination legislation could face tribunal claim02 April 2007 Small businesses are risking tribunals as they fail to make changes to employment policies following age discrimination laws, research has suggested.

A survey of 750 small businesses by conciliation service Acas revealed that only 17% have introduced changes to their employment and recruitment practices. Respondents said they had not made changes because they believed their organisations already complied, or that the regulations did not apply to their business.

Two-thirds of employers in the survey thought they were fairly or very well informed about the age discrimination regulations. However, fewer than 30% gave a correct response to a question about whether it is still lawful to have a retirement age.

Acas chair Rita Donaghy said: “These results are worrying as they highlight a potential timebomb in smaller companies in terms of tribunal cases. Age discrimination can affect all employees, young and old and to comply can be very simple and quick.”

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Stigma over HIV still rife despite changes to law

The majority of workers living with HIV still feel unable to tell their employer about their condition, despite increased legal protection, the National Aids Trust (NAT) has warned.

A 2005 revision to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) extended protection to employees living with HIV from when they are first diagnosed.

"However, a survey of 760 gay men, carried out by Professor Jonathan Elford at City University, found that more than two-thirds of white and 84% of non-white gay men living with HIV did not feel able to tell their employers about their condition."

Employers are still uncertain about what their obligations are to HIV-positive employees, according to Deborah Jack, chief executive of the NAT.

"At present, the workplace can be a very difficult environment for people living with HIV, as unfortunately discrimination and harassment are still very real concerns for many," she said.

The NAT has launched a guide for employers on recruiting HIV-positive employees. "By putting practices in place to avoid discrimination in recruitment, employers can encourage applications from people living with HIV and benefit from the skills of these individuals," Jack added.

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Royal Mail and Remploy pilot scheme for disabled workers set to roll out nationwide

A partnership between Royal Mail and Remploy - the provider of employment services for disabled people - is set for a national roll-out following a successful pilot programme in the South East.

Over the past year, 32 Remploy candidates with disabilities or health conditions have been employed as postal workers. Eleven are based at the Jubilee Mail Centre in Hounslow, while candidates have also been placed into administration, sorting office and delivery roles.

The scheme is now being extended to Essex, Chelmsford, Chiswick and Guildford, prior to a national roll-out in April.

Mike O’Donovan, mail centre manager at the Jubilee Mail Centre, said: “Many people’s perceptions of disability have been turned around by working with Remploy and it’s great to know that the partnership will now be rolled out nationally.”

This year, Remploy aims to find 5,600 jobs for people with disabilities and health conditions in mainstream employment.

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Disability campaign urges employers to recruit people with Down's Syndrome

Employers are being targeted by a new campaign that aims to get them to look again at jobseekers with Down's Syndrome.

The Down's Syndrome Association (DSA) is sending mail alerts to businesses across the UK in the form of a job application, covering letter and CV. The fictional applicant writes that he has Down's Syndrome, and for the remainder of the letter the word 'disabled' is repeated over and over.

The mock CV follows the same format, with 'disabled' replacing the candidate's career overview, qualifications and work experience.

There are approximately 15,000 working-age adults with Down's Syndrome in the UK. Of those, just 16% are in some kind of employment - mostly voluntary and unpaid work - according to the DSA.

Carol Boys, the charity's chief executive, said people with Down's were particularly discriminated against because they were "easily identifiable". Employment levels among people with the condition are lower than those with other physical disabilities, she said.

"Their expectations of some kind of employment are high and so it makes it all the more depressing when they are not able to find a job," she said. "The DSA is asking employers to 'look behind the label' and see the potential of a person with Down's Syndrome."

Boys said fear of the unknown and a lack of understanding about the condition were preventing employers from hiring more candidates with Down's Syndrome. The DSA is starting to work with more companies that are keen on hiring people with the condition, and is producing guidance to help employers.

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Women and Work Commission chairman Baroness Prosser pleased at pace of progress on gender pay gap

One year on from the publication of the Women and Work Commission's report into closing the gender pay gap, its chair Baroness Margaret Prosser said she was "surprised" with the progress that had been made.

At a trade and industry sub-committee hearing last week on the commission's Shaping a Fairer Future report, published in March 2006, Prosser was asked what she thought about the government's action plan on her 40 recommendations.

"I was pleased that [the government] produced an action plan at all," she replied. "I'm surprised so much has been done already. I'm certainly not unhappy with the pace."

Prosser cited the Department of Trade and Industry's £500,000 part-time work fund and the Exemplar Employers initiative as significant achievements.

"More than 100 companies have taken part in the Exemplar Employers scheme, and are trialling more women managers and providing better careers advice," she said.

However, Prosser said she had some concerns that many schools still stereotyped women when it came to work experience and career guidance.

"The Department for Education and Skills accepted our recommendations on work experience, but I'm not sure how carefully [the department] is monitoring it," she said.

Norma Jarboe, director of Opportunity Now, which oversees the Exemplar Employers programme, said: "Lots of government reports have not had that much impact and have simply been shelved, but the government has reacted well to this one."

Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said the gender pay gap remained a stubborn 17% for women working in full-time roles.

"We are glad the government is taking this forward and look forward to seeing the report," she said.
But Prosser warned that the gender pay gap would remain a complicated and difficult issue to overcome.

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Women get to break through glass ceiling to senior management but only to do dirty jobs

Business leaders are more likely to appoint a woman to a senior-level post during times of crisis and poor performance than their male colleagues, according to a report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

However, the CIPD-commissioned study by Exeter University found that, as women are more readily appointed to tough roles during times of change, they are at greater risk of suffering from the “set up to fail” syndrome than men.

Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity adviser, said: “Due to the limited opportunities open to female leaders, many are forced to take the more difficult jobs in organisations with a history of poor performance, perpetuating the myth that women are poor performers in senior positions, and covering up the true extent of discrimination for the most desirable senior management positions.

"But the growth in the number of successful small businesses owned by women goes some way to indicate their business and leadership capabilities and highlights the talent other large organisations are missing. So old-fashioned attitudes are not only unfair and discriminatory towards women but they leave organisations shooting themselves in the foot.”

The Change Agenda, Women in the boardroom: the risks of being at the top report included more than 80 employers.

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Significant numbers of public bodies break Disability Equality Duty law by failing to publish details of disability schemes

Almost one-third of public authorities still have not published the details of their disability practices and policies, despite the government’s Disability Equality Duty becoming law in December 2006.

The Public Bodies’ Response to the Disability Equality Duty report found that only half (54%) of authorities had included any evidence of involving disabled people in their Disability Equality Scheme.

The study of more than 1,750 public authorities by the government’s Office for Disability Issues and the Ipsos Mori Social Research Institute included government departments and central government bodies, police authorities, NHS Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities.

Anne McGuire, minister for disabled people, said: “Implementation of the Disability Equality Duty is the key to improving the lives of disabled people. It’s a huge step forward that just over half of all public bodies audited by the Office for Disability Issues were found to have given disabled people a real opportunity to influence and shape the policies and services which have an impact on their lives.

“But it’s disappointing that a significant number of public bodies missed the December deadline to publish a scheme - and the Office for Disability Issues, working with the Disability Rights Commission, will be taking appropriate action to ensure all public bodies are playing their part in promoting equality for disabled people.”

Most public authorities, with the exception of schools in England and Wales, were required to produce and publish their Disability Equality Scheme by 4 December 2006.

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Equal Opportunities Commission says fundamental cultural shift is key to employment opportunities for ethnic minorities

A fundamental cultural shift in the way black and Asian women are treated at work and by public policy makers is needed to increase their employment opportunities, according to a report by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

Moving on Up: Ethnic Minority Women at Work, a two-year study of the issues, has established that Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black Caribbean women face significantly greater penalties than white women in the workplace.

Those who want to work are finding it more difficult to get jobs, progress within them and are more likely to be segregated into certain types of work, despite leaving school with the same career aspirations as white girls and similar or better qualifications than white boys.

In areas with above-average numbers of black and Asian women participating in the local labour market, women are entirely absent from a third of workplaces and under-represented in almost three out of five workplaces.

However, the EOC’s report found 28% of employers surveyed said they intended to introduce steps to improve the recruitment and progression of black and Asian women. However, the same percentage said they were unsure what action to take.

Between 2001 and 2020, ethnic minorities are expected to account for more than 70% of the growth in the UK population aged between 16 and 59, according to the report.

With UK employers facing skills shortages, the report concludes it is crucial to tap into a growing and increasingly well-qualified pool of young Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women’s talent to maintain economic growth.

Jenny Watson, chair of the EOC said: “Young Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black Caribbean women are ambitious and equipped for work. But they are still suffering even greater penalties at work than white women. Time after time women told us about the ‘unwritten rules’ in their workplace, the hidden barriers that prevent them from realising these ambitions. Without tackling these unwritten rules, change will never come.”

John Cridland, the CBI’s deputy director-general, said: “Employers will welcome the examples of good practice highlighted by the EOC’s investigation, on which others can draw. As the report says, employers are keen to employ more women from ethnic minorities, but better guidance is needed to support them.

“The EOC’s call for better careers advice is also to be welcomed Ð this is something the CBI has repeatedly pressed government on.”

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Equalities review recommends public service contracts should be awarded on basis of diversity

Multi-million pound contracts could soon be won or lost on the diversity of a company's workforce.

The government-commissioned Equalities Review last week recommended that diversity policy should be a key factor when awarding public sector contracts. It said the law should be changed to place greater responsibilities on public bodies, including "a specific requirement to use procurement as a tool for achieving greater equality".

Panel member Sir Robert Kerslake told Personnel Today that private firms bidding for public service contracts should be made to provide details of their workforce make-up, and an outline of the steps they are taking to improve diversity.

"This can and should be an important factor in the decision to award contracts," said Kerslake, chief executive of Sheffield City Council. "It is a duty of the public body to actively take into account equality of employment."

Communities secretary Ruth Kelly signalled the government's willingness to act on the report, commissioned by prime minister Tony Blair in 2005. "This review makes clear that further progress will not happen without government action," she said. "We must remain prepared to take tough decisions."

A formal response is expected by the autumn, but the CBI insisted that public service contracts should be awarded on the basis of value for money, rather than the diversity of a workforce. It said employers should not be subjected to additional bureaucracy or legal risk.

The Equalities Review was led by Commission for Equality and Human Rights chairman Trevor Phillips. He warned that unless drastic action was taken, inequality in the UK would remain at an "intolerable level". At the current rate of change, it would take nearly 100 years for the ethnic employment gap to be closed.

10 steps to equality
Defining equality
Building a consensus on equality
Measuring progress towards equality
Transparency about progress
Targeted action on persistent inequalities
A simpler legal framework
More accountability for delivering equality
Using procurement and commissioning positively
Enabling and supporting organisations in all sectors
A more sophisticated enforcement regime

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Equalities Review recommends legalising ethnic minority job adverts

Job ads specifically targeting ethnic minority applicants will be legalised if the government adopts the recommendations of the Equalities Review.

The review called for "the repeal of existing legislation that limits positive action". It said an Equalities Act should be drawn up to cover all diversity issues, to provide for better targeting of disadvantaged groups.

"There are some areas where inequalities are so deep-seated, or where conventional means will take so long to make an impact, that not taking alternative action is condemning a whole generation to living with disadvantage," said the report.

"There is a case for introducing time-limited, proportionate, balancing measures of a type not currently permissible under UK law," it said.

Review chairman Trevor Phillips said organisations wanting to use these proposed powers should be able to do so "if they can make a case that it is in the best interests of the community".

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Government report admits link between lack of job opportunities and ethnic and religious backgrounds

Ethnic minorities and women with religious convictions have the toughest time when it comes to finding work, according to research published by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The research analyses the probability of being in employment based on different combinations of ethnic and religious group.

It finds that for women, the employment penalties faced by Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds are higher than the penalty for any ethnic group of no religion.

Work and pensions secretary John Hutton said: "We simply cannot afford to ignore the specific discrimination that exists in the UK labour market.

"Along with improvements in training and skills - such as the increased emphasis on English language training for benefit recipients [the government] announced earlier this month - ethnic minority employment rates can be improved," Hutton added.

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Dawn Atkinson has been appointed in a new role as England's nursing officer for diversity

A nurse for 22 years, she will be seconded to the Department of Health for two days a week for a year, advising the chief nursing officer about all issues relating to diversity.

Chief nursing officer Christine Beasley said: “There were a high number of good applicants that we considered for this role, highlighting the value the Department of Health and the NHS place on developing and promoting leadership and diversity.”

Atkinson is currently assistant director of nursing for quality and standards at Newham University Hospital NHS Trust, and will continue this role throughout the duration of the secondment.

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Commission for Equality and Human Rights sets out programme to increase fairness in UK

A new approach is needed to tackle discrimination and disadvantage in the UK, the final Equalities Review report has recommended.

The inquiry that produced the report, led by Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, proposes a 10-step programme to help make the UK a fairer, more equal country at ease with its diversity.

It recommends new flexibility for employers to use positive action – which will allow firms to assist people from previously excluded ethnic minority groups to compete on equal terms with other applicants.

Employers will breathe a sign of relief as the report does not argue for positive discrimination.
Phillips said that unless efforts to produce change are drastically stepped up, it could take until 2085 to close the pay gap between men and women; and on current trends, the employment ‘penalty’ facing disabled people may never be eliminated.

The report’s recommendations include:

• a new framework to measure progress towards equality, including an ‘Equalities Scorecard’ which employers can use to get a true picture of equality gaps
• a broader positive duty for public sector bodies to tackle inequality - both as service providers and as employers
• a simpler legislative framework which will enable groups as well as individuals to take action
• a more sophisticated and proportionate enforcement regime, overseen by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights
• targeted action against persistent inequalities in education, employment, health, and crime and criminal justice

The review recommends that the commission, which will become operational in October 2007, should report on progress against the 10 steps to greater equality every three years.

Phillips said: “The past few years have seen inequality reduced in many ways. But as the tide of disadvantage recedes, the rocks of persistent inequality have been revealed. People face inequality in many forms – not only on the grounds of race, gender or disability but also sexual orientation, age, gender identity, and religion or belief.

“They struggle because of outdated attitudes and systemic failures. It will take many years to remove the remaining barriers to equality. In some cases, unless we accelerate progress, it is unlikely that disadvantage will ever be overcome. We have to act now.”

Communities minister Ruth Kelly welcomed the review. “This review makes clear that further progress will not happen without government action – working with others, including communities and businesses, we must remain prepared to take the tough decisions needed,” she said.

“Trevor Phillip’s report rightly challenges us to go further. I look forward to analysing the review in detail and to responding formally on behalf of the government in due course.”

The government response to the review is due in autumn 2007.

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