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.

Yes I’ve heard it before black boy doesn’t listen and goofs off at school it’s white peoples fault. White boy doesn’t listen and goofs off at school that’s ALSO white peoples fault.

🙄

Did you read the links?

Oh?

As businesses push forward on hitting diversity goals, a major insurance company in the U.K. is telling its 22,000 strong workforce that senior white male new hires must be personally approved by none other than the CEO.
*Aviva’s boss Amanda Blanc said the policy forms part of the company’s efforts to stamp out sexism in the financial services industry.
Speaking at the Sexism in the City inquiry, Blanc, who became the blue-chip company’s first female chief executive in 2020, told a parliamentary committee that there was “no non-diverse hire at Aviva without it being signed off by me and the chief people officer.” *

fortune.com/europe/2023/12/15/aviva-insurance-ceo-amanda-blanc-white-male-new-hires-sign-off-improve-diversity/

Oh?
As businesses push forward on hitting diversity goals, a major insurance company in the U.K. is telling its 22,000 strong workforce that senior white male new hires must be personally approved by none other than the CEO.
*Aviva’s boss Amanda Blanc said the policy forms part of the company’s efforts to stamp out sexism in the financial services industry.
Speaking at the Sexism in the City inquiry, Blanc, who became the blue-chip company’s first female chief executive in 2020, told a parliamentary committee that there was “no non-diverse hire at Aviva without it being signed off by me and the chief people officer.” *
fortune.com/europe/2023/12/15/aviva-insurance-ceo-amanda-blanc-white-male-new-hires-sign-off-improve-diversity/

Another one for those in a state of denial on this thread

news.sky.com/story/royal-air-force-unlawfully-discriminated-against-white-male-recruits-in-bid-to-boost-diversity-inquiry-finds-12911888

Even MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are at it.

Thoughts? @Bambamhoohoo @BoringBarbie

Spy agencies reopen ‘racist’ internship that bans white Britons
MI5, MI6 and GCHQ offer scheme exclusively to ‘ethnic minority’ and ‘disadvantaged’ candidates for third time
The GCHQ Summer Intelligence Internship has been running for two years
Credit: David Goddard/Getty
Aaron Newbury
05 August 2025 3:01pm BST
Britain’s intelligence services have re-opened a summer internship scheme to which white participants cannot apply.
Started in 2023, the MI5, MI6 and GCHQSummer Intelligence Internship attracted criticism last year, when it was labelled “racist”.
It was offered only to young people from a “Black, Asian, mixed heritage or ethnic minority background and from a socially or economically disadvantaged background”.
When the scheme was first advertised for this summer, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, described it as “racist” and called for it to be axed.
He said: “I understand the need to encourage applications from a wide range of backgrounds, including under-represented minorities.
“But this is an overtly racist policy and it should be immediately discontinued. It implies it’s impossible for any white person to be deprived or deserving of assistance.”

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/05/spy-agencies-repeat-internship-mi5-mi6/

Totally agree with the op. Even applying for a few days work experience is somehow restricted to those in minorities. I was quite shocked at the blatant requirements!

Some of these entry roles ask what your parents do, did they go to university. Immediately bounced. I has no idea dragging myself out of poverty would negatively affect my children.

It does seem that if you are white, never been in trouble with the law, got great grades, no particular religion, heterosexual, male, got boring parents with jobs, you can just fuck off. You're unemployable.

what's the outcome of this policy?

This clearly isn't true though, is it? White males dominate every profession and institution and power structure within UK society, so clearly they are highly employable and promotable. The white males who are struggling are a subset of white males. The WC disadvantaged ones. The wealthy privileged ones continue to do just fine.
Why is the most important factor that effects whether a white male is likely to be rise to the top of our society or be disadvantaged ignored in favour of pretending its his whiteness and maleness that disadvantages him?

Why are we framing women and POC as the barrier to his success rather than the MC, wealthy white males who are disproportionately occupying the positions he might aspire to?

White middle class males you're talking about got there 30-40 years ago.

At present, unless we're talking about top level, specialist head hunted type of roles, this group is at the very bottom of every list. White middle class boys aren't even allowed to apply for many intern, apprenticeships, work experience positions.

This will come back to bite us badly. Saying this as POC.

Why do you think it will 'bite us' if we end up with fewer middle class white males heading our society, and the people in the top positions become more reflective of the population? Do you think that being white, male and middle class makes a person particularly well qualified to perform the most responsible and powerful roles? Or do you think that women, WC people and POC may have be equally equipped to contribute at this level if barriers were removed?

Good on the US for doing this. If you actually look at the data. The ethnic group with the highest income and wealth in the USA isn't white, it's Asian.

I think that being white, male and middle class does not make a person less qualified than anyone else. Which means these criteria must not be considered when selecting for any position.
If we're talking about positions being reflective of UK population, than 82% of it is still white. When you're trying to block significant proportion of population from getting certain jobs or educational places, this always comes back.

ETA: don't you really see that blunt approach like this, opening desired positions to diversity candidates only, automatically lead to rise of Reform and Tommy Robinson? If you're parent of white boy like OP, who did all things, worked hard at school, got good grades, and now can't even apply for many positions, will be at the very bottom of the queue for many unis who prefer to offer to diversity applicants, don't you really see that these families will be very tempted to vote far right?

By all means, do blind recruitment, but stop this nonsense

Only about 15% of the population is white and male and middle class though, and this group disproportionately hold the top positions in our society.
No one is suggesting that being white male and middle class automatically makes a person LESS qualified, but if we look at outcomes for this group, and imagine that positions are gained only on merit, then we'd be forced to conclude that being white male and middle class makes a person innately MORE qualified for these roles.
I don't know about you, but I don't believe in the inate superiority of the white middle class male. So when I see their disproportionate success over other groups, I tend towards thinking there are other things at play that give them an advantage.
Its not about blocking them from jobs. It's about making sure that other people aren't blocked from competing with them for jobs because they weren't fortunate enough to have the opportunities and connections of being a privileged white male.
And yes, I am aware that the right are misrepresenting and exaggerating EDI initiatives to further a racist sexist agenda that paints white males as victims. However I don't think the answer to right wing threat is appeasement by removing protections and support for disadvantaged groups.

We are Indian. Don't know about higher IQ. We have bright DC, but I've always pushed them to study hard and do well. Thankfully all have. My DH is about to secure a promotion and be on £250k plus. Wasn't hired or promoted due to DEI. Just works bloody damn hard and delivers.

And yes, I am aware that the right are misrepresenting and exaggerating EDI initiatives to further a racist sexist agenda that paints white males as victims. However I don't think the answer to right wing threat is appeasement by removing protections and support for disadvantaged groups.

It's not protections and support for disadvantaged groups. It's putting barriers and blocking opportunities for a group based on their skin color (white), sex (male) and social background. If the same was done against brown people it would constitute criminal offence, and absolutely rightly so. I understand that you don't see it this way and will never agree, but let's see what voters say in 2029. Reform's prospect terrifies me.
You also forget that winning a place when significant proportion of competition was just blocked from participating will leave you forever in doubt if you were a diversity hire. And people around you will think the same.

ETA: no, it's not 15% of population. White men are 40% of population.

The majority of the uk population is white, men do not get pregnant or breastfeed so the average man can enjoy an uninterrupted career more than that average woman. It’s not disproportionate at all. Now there are certain fields that are genuinely dominated by certain groups (and good for them I say) but people like you ignore that in favour of waffling on about white males because that’s acceptable.

Also they work out who is working class based on free school meals, currently you have to earn less than £7400 per household a year to qualify that is a tiny amount of families (which admittedly included me at one point because my child gets fsm). Anyway based on that most people are middle class too.
The threshold for fsm used to be higher and many schools haven’t updated their statistics hence you sometimes see a lot of schools apparently half on free school meals but that isn’t the current reality

yes Ive also heard this debated a million times it’s nothing new. White boy goofs off and dosent listen at school he just has shit white parents. Black boy dosent listen and goofs off at school it’s because the white teachers are racist.

White boy does listen and works hard at school and gets a good job he’s just “privileged” black boy does the same it’s because he’s hardworking and intelligent.

Everything is white peoples fault is nothing new

Majority of population is white. Men and women have different long term views on careers etc. women take time out to be mother's and raise children. The men go out the work to provide for their family

Blocking would be telling a group they can't apply for a job or deliberately not selecting them for a job because of their group. These things are illegal.
These schemes are not closing the doors white middle class males have always been able to enter jobs through. They are as equipped and entitled to apply for jobs as they ever were. The schemes are not jobs. They are just a means of allowing other groups to compete.
White males are 40% of the population. White MC males are around 15%. As far as I understand the OP, the scheme being complained about here is open to white males, just not white MC ones, because their over representation shows they don't need help to be able to compete fairly for roles.
I do understand what you're saying about the possibility of a racist backlash. But that's happening because people are misrepresenting the schemes. Using US terms like 'diversity hire' in a country where this isn't even lawful, conflating training and work experience opportunities and positive encouragement to apply for jobs with discrimination in selection.
The answer to that is to keep correcting these lies where we see them, not give in to racist/sexist/classist pressure.

You don’t address the points made regarding men not getting pregnant or breastfeeding so not having their career interrupted or that working class is based on fsm status in all these statistics which means earning less than £7400 per household a year.
You pulled 15% out of your ass crack

Men who are not white and men who are not MC don't breastfeed either, so don't have career interruptions, yet are under represented compared with white middle class men. A point so obvious to anyone with half their wits, I didn't think it merited pointing out. I apologise for over estimating you.
White middle class men are estimated to be 15% of the population. I imagine using the recognised identifiers of social class. FSM is not a social class signifier. Its simply a criteria used by some schemes to narrow down eligibility on financial grounds. Others schemes use parental occupation/education or postcode.

What are you on about?

It's mostly a skill/drive issue. Lots of white working class people I know don't bother at school. Entire generations see school at useless, refuse to go in, don't even do GCSEs. They have no drive whatsoever to learn and improve themselves. They'll happily claim benefits and then blame all the immigrants for taking their jobs.

I think what I'm 'on about' is perfectly obvious from my posts.
If that's your opinion them go tell it to the people who are banging on about 'poor white boys' losing out to women and POC. Because I'm not one of them. The only people poor white boys are losing out to imo are wealthy white boys.

Now you know how those who aren’t white men have felt for decades. Honestly grad jobs are hard because there’s so many graduates anyway. I almost feel like staying get over it there’s lots of other people in his position.