Employers must change attitudes to
recruitment
It was refreshing to read Ibukun Adebayo's opinion on equal
opportunities in recruitment (Computer Weekly, 18 July).
Although many employers will deny it, racism, ageism, sexism and
discrimination against people with disabilities, certain religious
beliefs or sexual preferences, are all still very evident in the IT
world.
Attitudes towards recruitment need to change urgently - not just
to ensure a diverse workforce that represents modern Britain and
not just to avoid skill shortages by embracing diversity, but also
to make sure employers do not fall foul of the growing amount of
legislation concerning equal opportunities.
Employers must be familiar with the forthcoming legislation on
age discrimination (October 2006) and the next part of the
Disability Discrimination Act (December 2006). Failure to comply
with these laws may result in costly payouts and a damaged
reputation.
As well as the development of close relationships with
recruitment agencies to ensure they share company values on equal
opportunities, employers could also consider using technology to
ensure a fair recruitment process.
Some e-recruitment technologies enable recruiters to find the
best match for the job based on skills and experience, while at the
same time screening out irrelevant details such as name, sex and
age.
This means the task of objectively sorting and ranking job
applications is left to computers. It is then down to humans to
make the final decision on whether or not to interview and hire
someone.
This may require training in equal opportunities, which Adebayo
suggests, to ensure those in charge of recruitment make decisions
based purely on skill and are not swayed by age, nationality,
religion, sex or disability.
Patrice Barbedette, Founder, Jobpartners
We need to address the source of
discrimination
I read with interest Ibukun Adebayo's comments on discrimination
in recruitment (Computer Weekly, 18 July). She raises some
interesting points during her criticisms of recruiters, but like
any business in supply and demand, we work to industry order and
not to our own agenda.
On and off the record, recruiters are consistently asked
indirectly (or sometimes very directly) to supply British national
candidates, young people and those with a clear accent. A recruiter
could start sending foreign nationals, older candidates and those
without the "Queen's English" but they will not get any interview
requests or placements or money.
It is attitudes like these that recruiters should try to change,
but it is not accurate to suggest that recruiters are the source of
this problem. Adebayo is blaming the easiest of targets rather than
addressing the real issue at the heart of the IT industry.
It is patronising to suggest that "all recruiters should attend
equal opportunities training" when we do not need the training.
Equal opportunities is not a difficult concept to understand, even
for the recruiters that she holds in such low regard.
I agree with her that racism in IT should be stamped out, but
she should face the truth: racism is a blight on parts of the IT
industry - not parts of the IT recruitment industry - and needs to
be addressed by the buyer before it can filter back down to us
Name withheld by request
Inequality has grown as IT jobs market
matures
Ibukun Adebayo has written a brilliant article and touched on a
subject that so many people would rather turn a blind eye to
(Computer Weekly, 18 July).
Racism is rife in the UK IT market. Early IT employees like
myself got into the industry because the demand at the time
outstripped the supply. However, lately there is some sort of
balance and with it comes discrimination.
I work for a large non-UK owned IT firm that does not have a
single black person in senior management - it cannot be because we
are not that good.
Name withheld by request
Practice makes perfect in the search for good
luck
In his opinion piece (Computer Weekly, 11 July) Mike McElwee
attributes the quote "The more I practise, the luckier I get" to
Seve Ballesteros. Could you let Mike know it was Gary Player that
said it?
Mike McMahon, Getronics
Editor's note
It is a matter of "you pays your money and you takes your
choice" on who said this first. We have seen it attributed to
Player, Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben
Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Jerry Barber. And that's just the
golfers!
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