A few weeks ago, the results of the ‘Race at Work’ survey conducted by Business in the Community (BITC) were published. The survey had more than 24,600 respondents and it found that just one in three black candidates feel recruitment agencies are fair. While the survey doesn’t explore in detail why this is, I don’t think we can rule out the lack of representation within the recruitment industry.
 
The recruitment industry is not known for its diversity and there are a lot of recruitment agencies that claim to have a focus on inclusion yet are unable to back that up with their shortlists and even their own teams.
 
BITC suggests that “Employers need to introduce performance agreements for diverse longlists and shortlists into recruitment contracts”. This is a great starting point to help ensure inclusivity in a process and something that a few organisations already insist upon. We’re proud of the fact that we have delivered a diverse shortlist for every single Trustee search that we’ve been engaged on this year, and an impressive 80% of those placed have identified as being from a Black, Asian, or mixed ethnicity background.
 
Social psychologists have hypothesised for a long time that people find affinity with people they deem to be like themselves. Therefore, it stands to reason those feelings of being treated unfairly by an industry with a systemic issue will be compounded by individual recruiters being perceived as having little in common with the candidate.
 
We live and act on our values and over 60% of the recruiters here at BAME Recruitment identify as non-white. That doesn’t mean we’re the only agency who understands the importance of DE&I, but it does mean that we have a lived experience which might be advantageous in empathising, understanding, and helping to overcome some of the challenges that exist.

 
 
 
 
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We’re going to be making some changes to our drop-in clinic over the next few weeks and aim to be back with you in the new year. An exciting new offering is in the works, which we’re hoping you’ll help us to navigate by answering our quick 1-minute survey via this link: https://0ngo2dbhwsj.typeform.com/to/sbzIXurs