Finance and IT sectors excluding women and minorities simply by name
ALMOST a half a million female and ethnic minority jobseekers in the finance and IT sectors will not be considered for roles this year purely because of the name on their CV, according to new research.
Nottx.com, the UK’s only ‘name-blind’ headhunting platform, said that even though employment in finance and IT was on the increase, the proportion of women and minorities working in them had fallen.
It said a range of studies showed women and minorities were habitually discounted through explicit or inherent bias on the part of recruiters and hirers.
It concludes there are also inherent barriers to progression for those already in-situ: women with supervisory responsibility in the finance sector are more likely to be promoted to supervisory posts, whereas men with supervisory responsibilities are more likely to be promoted to management.
Nottx, which advocates promotion on merit, is aiming to build on the drive towards ‘name-blind’ recruitment in the civil service announced by the Prime Minister late last year. It also believes name-blind applications should be the norm.
Biju Menon, founder of Nottx.com, said: “We are not going to change the view of employers and recruiters with an active bias, but our service will speak to those who wish to overcome their unconscious bias and ethical companies who are keen to find a pool of diverse talent.”
He said the business aimed to empower women and minorities who had lost confidence in the recruitment process by giving them the opportunity to be noticed completely on their own merit.
“With time, I hope Nottx will also appeal to any demographic that wants to work in the more diverse – and therefore more profitable – companies we are seeking to support,” he added.
