Prime Minister David Cameron makes move to help end discrimination in job applications.
PM David Cameron announced new measures on Monday which will see several large graduate employers using name-blind applications to prevent discrimination. Organisations like The Civil Service, NHS, Deloitte and the BBC will adopt the new policy to help level the playing field for those with ethnic-sounding names.
Cameron termed the discrimination “disgraceful” when he raised the issue in last month's conference speech in Manchester.
"Do you know that in our country today, even if they have exactly the same qualifications, people with white-sounding names are nearly twice as likely to get call backs for jobs than people with ethnic-sounding names?" he said.
"One young black girl had to change her name to Elizabeth before she got any calls to interviews. That, in 21st-century Britain, is disgraceful."
Cameron will address the issue in the coming weeks, with the first step announced on Monday after a meeting at Downing Street.
"I said in my conference speech that I want us to end discrimination and finish the fight for real equality in our country today," Cameron said. “[W]e are delivering on that commitment and extending opportunity to all."
"If you've got the grades, the skills and the determination, this Government will ensure that you can succeed."
The move in government echoes a shift in approach being taken on willing by some graduate employers. Professional services firm, Deloitte, announced plans to use name-blind interviews earlier this month.
David Sproul, Chief Executive at Deloitte, was quoted in The Telegraph saying the move will help protect against unconscious bias.
"The introduction of name-blind recruitment processes...will help prevent unconscious bias and ensure that job offers are made on the basis of potential - not ethnicity, gender or past personal circumstance."