To Think that Grad & Apprenticeships are now only for Diversity Candidates

[reallyreallycrazy]

Slight hyperbole but not far off.

Yes, of course I suppose my DS should be appreciative of his 'white privilege' (I do detest the term though), but he's been applying to over 100 x spring & summer internships and apprenticeships.

Invariably, he finds that lots of programmes are only open to black/female/social mobility/ND candidates. In one recent case - a global consultancy - there were NO openings for anyone outside of these categories.

And today, on LinkedIn, he forwarded me several links from leading banks reaching out about apprenticeships etc. In most photos, you might be lucky to spot 1-2 white males and in the video of one, there were not a single white male (or female for that matter).

I get that these firms need to do outreach to disadvantaged groups but if you look at the population level percentage of the various group categories, this really has swung too far the other way.

I get that many of these organisations have years to catch up with diversity hires but to try to rebalance in such an aggressive way and in a short space of time, makes it very difficult for young, white males (unless they have qualified for 'free school meals') to get a foot in the door which is especially tough in an incredibly tough grad market as it is.

@Bambamhoohoo do you not like white boys? Are they all the same? All - every single one of them - privileged, probably privately-educated and, let us not forget - entitled to boot.

It’s one thing seeing the merits of diversity endeavours and another being rather malicious towards a group of people.

Yes. Last year. She's in her first term at Cambridge.

I’m not saying that there aren’t ignorant people who don’t understand reality and believe this, nor that in the face of rising racism over the last 5-10 years that there might not be more of them, but that is no reason to stop these handful of schemes. I want those brilliant and talented but disadvantaged candidates in the workforce, and plainly so do some companies who recognise the huge untapped potential there exists.

What have I even said about white boys? 🤨 quite a lot of uncontrolled drama llama in your post. I guess it’s easier to throw wild accusations about than discuss under representation.

It’s hugely competitive out there right now. Plenty of graduates are struggling to find work, let alone kids fresh out of college. Apprenticeships are like gold dust. You can usually opt out of the diversity questions, just select ‘prefer not to say’ to enable a blind application.

I think diversity hiring needs to be dialled back as it’s now doing more harm than good. We need to find fairer ways to address inequality.

honestly I encourage anyone who’s reading this with white male or even white female kids to just lie. Say you’re bisexual or gay say you’re mixed race (an ambiguous term that could mean half polish half English they have no way to prove you’re lying)

They will give you preferential treatment if you tick diversity boxes, I was a secondary school drop out teen mum with no previous work experience and now working a relatively cushty job considering all that, after I lied. Strange considering all the rejections while being honest about being straight and white.

Is it fair to lie? Probably not. But it’s not fair that they discriminate either so play them at their own game

At the risk of once again screaming futilely into the void, I am going to share my own personal experience as a disabled person who benefited from graduate schemes aimed at people with disabilities at the beginning of my career in the hope that it may offer food for thought to some of the posters on here bewailing all of the special treatment supposedly being showered on people like me.
I have been severely disabled all my life, born without eyeballs and with multiple joint deformities. I was extremely fortunate to have amazing parents who were able to advocate for me and ensure I had an excellent education, which allowed me to graduate with a first class degree from a top university. Following graduation I benefited from being accepted on graduate hire schemes aimed at disabled people. In order for me to be enabled to work I require a great deal of specialist support. This includes adaptive technology, special equipment and physical assistance while at work to get me to and from work and to help me get around, to appointments etc. and with other work and personal tasks I cannot carry out myself while at work.
Most employers are unable or unwilling to offer such a high level of support and most workplaces would not be able to accommodate me in any role.
Graduate schemes specifically aimed at disabled people were an absolute lifeline. They enabled me to connect with disabled-friendly employers who had the ability, the expertise and above all the will to accommodate me. This both saved me fruitlessly applying to companies who would never consider employing me and also put me in contact with an accessibility-minded group of employers which has stood me in good stead throughout my career.
I am aware that this first-hand account will do little to win over posters on here, who will still be outraged at the notion their able-bodied little darlings are being denied opportunities because of someone like me, but I bet these are the same posters who endlessly infest posts on here whinging about worthless work-shy disabled benefits scroungers.
I am very fortunate to have had the opportunities I have had, the vast majority of severely disabled people are not so lucky. Had these schemes not existed, it is doubtful I would be in employment at all, let alone the rich and fulfilling career I currently enjoy.

I disagree.

In what way is it "doing more harm than good"?

It’s making large numbers of people believe that black/brown/gay/female people only achieved their success because of diversity hiring. It’s fuelling people’s prejudices.

Most social mobility schememes seem to apply for people from families in benefits. Difference from working class and benefits you know

Why the fuck are we importing this anti-DEI MAGA agenda from the US?

Would've been fairer

"Diversity hiring considers people from various groups based on protected characteristics like race, gender, age, religion, and disability, as well as other factors such as sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and life experience."

These large numbers of people need to expand their thinking, instead of digesting nonsense. The very nonsense that is highlighting their prejudice.

"It’s making large numbers of stupid people believe that black/brown/gay/female people only achieved their success because of diversity hiring."
There, you missed out a word, I fixed it for you. You're welcome!

Probably because diversity schemes are being overused and nobody is listening to people’s concerns.

Ha ha! I tend to agree with you, but calling people stupid rarely leads them to change their point of view.

Why should it? Why would a black CEO have anything in common with a black cleaner? Would they eat grits together on a wooden porch in Peckham? A bit racist?

Would that represent the racial makeup of the uk?

How would that look taken to its conclusion?

That isn’t how I read that post.

If you have a junior cohort of staff from a specific background and it dominates, then the expectation is those people would climb the ladder and then be represented at the top as well as in more junior ranks.

Why would you imagine big corporations are going to listen to your 'concerns' about who they hire? If they want a more diverse workforce then provided they go about recruitment legally, people moaning that they're being unfair to white males (when likely their workforce is already primarily made up of them and headed by them) isn't going to be of the slightest importance.

I considered ignorant or ill-informed but decided that stupid was more piquant.
As I said at length in a previous post, if it weren't for these schemes I would never have got a job. There are far fewer opportunities and options open to me than my able-bodied peers, most of the children of the posters complaining about their privileged kids being adversely affected by 'special treatment' will never encounter a fraction of the barriers to employment I did, and, as I said, I am one of the fortunate ones.
Only a really disability-positive workplace, operating schemes aimed at disabled people would have taken a chance on employing me since it would have been far easier for them to employ a similarly qualified non-disabled candidate to do my job.
This is the reality for people bleating about how unfair these schemes are, and if these people who can't see that people like me, with the level of adjustments I require, needemployers who go out of their way to recruit disabled people in order to have any chance of getting a job then I think they are stupid and I have no problem calling them that.

@AgualusasL0ver Except we know that rarely happens. Getting a job is not the same as being promoted in the workplace.

Thousands? Out of how many millions? Most people don’t inhabit your world. Their parents are teachers, conveyancing lawyers, doctors, small business people, academics, estate agents, dentists, public sector managers, policemen, hoteliers, financial advisers, nurses, civil engineers, etc. etc. all middle class and none with the contacts you have especially if they don’t live in a big city. Yet all their sons have to be deprioritised because your child has contacts?

Poor poor young white male, my heart bleeds for him