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Top firms get street smart on social mobility

While I support the objectives, the problem with trying to measure social mobility is that it is so hard to define, unlike, say, gender and ethnic background which are (usually) fairly straightforward. So I was the first in my family to go to University. But was that because I worked hard to shake off my own working class background, or did my parents do all the hard work for me. Oh, and I'm an only child. If I'd had an older sibling who went to University, I would have to answer the question the other way, but how does that affect my social background? So yes, it is different from other diversity issues, because the questions are merely proxies and may themselves be based on, or used as the basis of, discrimination based on invalid assumptions. Who cares what school my parents chose to send me to, assuming they had a choice? Did they pay the fees in full, or did they rely on a bursery fund to cover most of the cost? Why should I be judged on the basis of decision which was largely not my own? By gathering data at the recruitment stage, this suggests that the information is relevant to the recruitment decision. It should be made clear that it will play no part in the recruitment decision, but rather be used to inform future recruitment strategies.

4-May-2011

4:35 pm