Ethnic Background....Race and Colour...?

[gorvid]

There have been threads along these lines recently...plus alot of religious ones.

Every form you ever fill in these days has a box to tick on race / colour or whatever..

When I fill in forms I tick white / male and write ENGLISH....

How would you describe your own ethnic background..?
or is it better in here when we don't know????????

[scorp]

I leave them blank, there is no reason for that information to be usefull to anyone.

[falcemob]

gorvid said:

How would you describe your own ethnic background..?

Black Italian

[bad_roo]

Raging Chav

[djfish]

Other........

[R988]

Why do they need to know your race/skin colour anyway?

[Cotty]

R988 said:

Why do they need to know your race/skin colour anyway?

So they can fill their minorities quota rather than employing the best person for the job based on the applications

[Lois]

I probably just say White British on them.

We have to ask a lot of questions about ethnicity at work but thats for medical reasons, dont see why a lot of these questionnaire things need to know...after all, aren't we all supposed to be equal

[MilnerR]

R988 said:

Why do they need to know your race/skin colour anyway?

I never fill them in... never been forced to so far.

[fid]

Do you think if I put my race down as something other than white, it would increase my chances of getting a job with the police force, for example, who seem to like positive discrimination?

[Lois]

I dont think any kind of discrimination can be positive. It's always going to disadvantage someone.

[fid]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Indeed...it's their term, not mine. I don't agree with it atall.

[Cotty]

fid said:

Do you think if I put my race down as something other than white, it would increase my chances of getting a job with the police force, for example, who seem to like positive discrimination?

Think they might find out when you met them

[scorp]

fid said:

anonymous said: [redacted] Indeed...it's their term, not mine. I don't agree with it atall.

It's political speak for legalised racism.

[BliarOut]

Like many I refuse to answer. Used to fill them in wrong when I was younger, but I'm a bit more mature now. It's nobody's business what race I am.

[bga]

Cotty said:

R988 said: Why do they need to know your race/skin colour anyway? So they can fill their minorities quota rather than employing the best person for the job based on the applications

In all the companies I have interviewed at and all clients I have interviewed on behalf of, this sort of info - whilst being on the application form - has not been passed on to me to interview the candidate.

There seems to be lots of paranioa out there, if we went back 50 years ago there would be no-one moaning on here that they were unfairly advantaged being a white male etc

[scorp]

bga said:

In all the companies I have interviewed at and all clients I have interviewed on behalf of, this sort of info - whilst being on the application form - has not been passed on to me to interview the candidate. There seems to be lots of paranioa out there, if we went back 50 years ago there would be no-one moaning on here that they were unfairly advantaged being a white male etc

Thats one point of view, i wonder how your ethnic origin plays when you apply for a job in the civil service.

[fid]

bga said:

...There seems to be lots of paranioa out there, if we went back 50 years ago there would be no-one moaning on here that they were unfairly advantaged being a white male etc

The problem comes when they switch the unfair advantage, rather than making it equal for all.

[bga]

scorp said:

bga said: In all the companies I have interviewed at and all clients I have interviewed on behalf of, this sort of info - whilst being on the application form - has not been passed on to me to interview the candidate. There seems to be lots of paranioa out there, if we went back 50 years ago there would be no-one moaning on here that they were unfairly advantaged being a white male etc Thats one point of view, i wonder how your ethnic origin plays when you apply for a job in the civil service.

I've selected & interviewed staff on behalf of DwP & DfES & was not privvy to that sort of info at all.

Not saying it doesn't happen, but in the grand scheme of things it is IMO far less than the large number of people who refuse to employ people of a different ethnicity (IIRC Asian firms are particularly bad for this) on principle.

[bga]

fid said:

bga said: ...There seems to be lots of paranioa out there, if we went back 50 years ago there would be no-one moaning on here that they were unfairly advantaged being a white male etc The problem comes when they switch the unfair advantage, rather than making it equal for all.

I agree. Level playing field for all is the only way. This sort of info is used by most firms to try and ensure that happens.