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Impartial recruitment training essential, says expert, as BBC finds evidence of anti-Muslim discrimination

07 Feb 2017, 12:43 pm

Businesses must ensure that recruiting managers are properly trained on impartial recruitment techniques, as well as relevant aspects of employment law, an expert has said, after the BBC found evidence that candidates with Islamic-sounding names were less likely to be shortlisted for interview.

BBC Inside Out London applied for 100 business manager vacancies within the advertising industry in London with identical CVs under the names of 'Adam Henton' and 'Mohamed Allam'. Although the skills and experience listed on the CVs were identical, 'Adam' was shortlisted for 12 interviews while 'Mohamed' was only offered four.

"This study, which is the latest of many of its kind, shows that there is still a significant bias against job applicants with Islamic names," said Kate Dodd, a diversity and inclusion expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. "With recent world events, such as President Trump's 'travel ban', the stigma appears to be growing, and disadvantaged applicants may find that recourse to an employment tribunal is their only option."

"Many do not realise that the 2010 Equality Act prohibits discrimination in recruitment, and that individuals do not have to be employees in order to bring a claim. To ensure that they are treating everyone fairly, employers must ensure that all recruiting managers are properly trained in relation to impartial recruitment, and relevant aspects of employment law. In addition to legal knowledge, smart employers are also providing inclusivity training on topics such as unconscious bias to help bring about cultural change," she said.

"These approaches don't just make sense legally and morally. We know that companies with good reputations find it easier to recruit and retain the best talent. We know that diversity in teams helps to stimulate innovation and reduces the risk of errors through increased objectivity and safer decision-making. Research by organisations such as McKinsey has also repeatedly demonstrated that gender-diverse and ethnically-diverse companies are more likely to outperform non-diverse companies financially," she said.

During the BBC experiment, which lasted for two and a half months, 'Adam' was offered three times as many interviews as 'Mohamed'. 'Adam' was also contacted by four recruiters after the two CVs were uploaded to four job sites, while 'Mohamed' was only contacted by two.

Although the BBC experiment relied on a small sample size, previous studies cited in the report have shown similar biases. In 2009, an experiment by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found that ethnic minority applicants were discriminated against in favour of white applicants in 29% of cases, while Demos, the charity, reported in 2015 that British Muslims were less proportionately represented in managerial and professional occupations than any other religious group.

Kate Dodd said that there were numerous techniques and procedures that businesses could implement to prevent them from falling foul of anti-discrimination laws when recruiting, as well as helping managers to overcome the unconscious biases that could lead to them being drawn to candidate with familiar-sounding names.

"'Affinity bias' can often mean that whilst managers do not consciously discriminate, they will still be more likely to choose candidates with names that sound familiar," she said. "Raising awareness through interactive workshops helps recruiting managers to guard against stereotyping and selecting candidates in their own likeness."

"In addition to training, it is also wise for recruitment decisions to be taken by more than one person, so that conscious checks and balances can be applied, and for the recruiting panels themselves to be as diverse as possible. Many businesses are also successfully adopting 'blind' CV screening, through which all references to candidates' personal characteristics such as gender, age and ethnicity are removed before the CVs are seen by the recruiting managers, leaving only relevant details of qualifications and experience," she said.

The UK Civil Service and National Health Service (NHS) will recruit on a 'name blind' basis by 2020, the government announced last year, in response to reports that only 4.4% of successful applicants to the Civil Service 'Fast Stream' graduate recruitment programme are from the poorest backgrounds. Many leading UK businesses have already committed to the practice.