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'Poshness tests' block working-class applicants at top companies
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/15/poshness-tests-block-working-class-applicants-at-top-companiesUnacknowledged “poshness tests” at elite British companies are thwarting the career prospects of talented working-class applicants and reinforcing social division, according to a government study.
The research by the social mobility and child poverty commission found that old-fashioned snobbery about accents and mannerisms was being used by top companies to filter out working-class candidates and favour the privileged.
The commission examined the recruitment processes at 13 elite law, accountancy and financial companies who between them appoint 45,000 of the best jobs in the country. It found that 70% of jobs offered by those firms in 2014 went to applicants from private or selective schools, even though such schools only educate around 11% of the population.
It found that as university education has become more prevalent employers have turned their attention to other characteristics “such as personal style, accent and mannerisms, adaptability, team working”. These “soft skills” were repeatedly found to be interpreted as “proxies for ‘talent’”.
Some successful applicants said they had to disguise their working-class backgrounds to get on. “When I went home … I could go back to, if you like, my old slight twang. When I’m in this environment I pretend I’m posher than I am,” one said.
The research by the social mobility and child poverty commission found that old-fashioned snobbery about accents and mannerisms was being used by top companies to filter out working-class candidates and favour the privileged.
The commission examined the recruitment processes at 13 elite law, accountancy and financial companies who between them appoint 45,000 of the best jobs in the country. It found that 70% of jobs offered by those firms in 2014 went to applicants from private or selective schools, even though such schools only educate around 11% of the population.
It found that as university education has become more prevalent employers have turned their attention to other characteristics “such as personal style, accent and mannerisms, adaptability, team working”. These “soft skills” were repeatedly found to be interpreted as “proxies for ‘talent’”.
Some successful applicants said they had to disguise their working-class backgrounds to get on. “When I went home … I could go back to, if you like, my old slight twang. When I’m in this environment I pretend I’m posher than I am,” one said.
The rest at link.
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