Fairest-Futures aspires to make the future fair. This is only possible if the concept of fairness and equal opportunity is present in legislation. There have been many advancements that have improved in this area but
Fairest-Futures’ aim is to take this further, expand on legislation that will make the future fair and led campaigns for change inspired by people’s personal experiences.
Is my name hireable?
Our current campaign proposes that when applicants apply for jobs, they should be assigned an ID number to replace their name. This would tackle unconscious bias when it comes to characteristics identifiable by names. Initially, Fairest-Future’s goal is to achieve this on a local level and then a national level.
Currently, Fairest-Futures is approaching local business leaders and requesting for they to considering introducing job applicant ID numbers into their organisations.
Why is this needed?
Many people with names of African heritage have felt that they have been unsuccessful in job applications because of their names. For example, Rowan, a British teenager of Sundanese heritage changed her name to Rowan after struggling to be shortlisted to the interview stage when job hunting. Since Rowan abandoned her Sudanese name she has said that her success in job applications has doubled (Croxford, 2019).
In addition to personal anecdotes, there have been ample studies carried out worldwide demonstrating this bias. Nutfield College’s Centre for Social Investigation (CSI) found that British citizens from ethnic minority backgrounds must send approximately 60% more applications to achieve a positive response.
Additionally, the BBC have also found similar results. A job seeker with an English-sounding name “Adam” was offered three times the number of interviews than an applicant with a Muslim-sounding name, despite the fact their CVs were identical (Adesina & Marocico, 2017).
How can you help?
If you are determined to make the future as fair as possible, if you are passionate about equality, and if you would like to reduce the scope for unconscious bias in your organisation please contact Fairest-Futures for support in implementing job applicant ID numbers.