Graduates from ethnic backgrounds can be overlooked by employers because of their ‘non-selective’ selection procedures, claims a report published today [June 24th] by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).



The report, based on a study by the University of Wales, accuses HR departments of being “elitist” in their approach to hiring graduates. Non-diverse selection procedures – not taking into account different cultural attitudes to qualities such as leadership, for example – are causing many talented ethnic graduates to be overlooked.



And all this despite the fact that the higher education participation rates for ethnic minorities are substantially above the national average.



The report’s author, Helen Connor, also blames the problem on HR departments’ narrow standards for evaluating candidates based on a mixture of the way they entered higher education, choice of course and university and personal attributes.



“Ethnic minorities have very good participation rates in higher education - 56% compared to the 40% national average – but many are finding they are filtered out because they did not take a traditional A-level route - which also effects the university they attend - or because selection procedures are not diverse enough,” Connor says.



‘Many organisations understand the need for diversity and are trying to reflect this in their selection procedures, however, others lead on merit only and this can block talented people from entering organisations.’



The report also found that graduates from Indian and Chinese backgrounds suffer less from this form of discrimination, principally because they tend to take a more traditional route through education.



Things might be changing, however. The number of UK businesses with diversity policies that go beyond legislation has risen by almost a fifth during the past 12 months, according the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's annual Recruitment, Retention and Turnover survey.