Ade Fashade 11 Years Ago Thanks for this very interesting article Brian. I would agree with your assertion of a 'few racists but a lot of racism'. I am particularly interested in reading about the scenario in recruitment and selection process. I think this is quite common in other sectors, and not just local government. I think the area where the myths and stereotypes occur most is the area of qualifications e.g. which University or College you got these from. Because panellist are allowed to see this, there is a danger that individuals in selection panels may have already preconceived ideas of the type of person they want in specific posts (e.g. in media. law, PR and Marketing careers where black people continue to be severely under-represented). Because a pitifully small number of black people attend the Russell Group of Universities, it stands to reason that they will never achieve the level playing field as their white counterparts, and the 'glass ceiling' will remain. Of course,as you have pointed out, if they are selected for interview, they are also likely to face an all-white interview panel, which can psychologically impact on the performance of black interviewees. The idea of have a mixture of backgrounds on interview panels, which some organisations have tried, is one that should be adopted across all sectors, as part of positive action statement to ensure fairness as much as possible. 1 Reply as... Cancel