To think being prejudiced against the privately educated is OK

[EastLondonObserver]

I have spent 25 years working in the advertising industry at some of the most highly regarded agencies in the world. Most of these have been dominated (in certain roles, at least) by the privately educated who gained their entry to the industry through having personal/family contacts in it, were subbed by rich parents while working in low-paid or free internships to gain experience and had that empty confidence private schools instil.

Perfectly capable graduates educated comprehensive schools didn't get much of a look in. However a few managed to break through, including myself.

Consequently, throughout my career I have actively rejected almost all privately educated graduates applying for entry level positions. This runs into hundreds of applicants. I have managed to do this without being called out. Sometimes I have rejected them even when they clearly would have done a better job than a comprehensive school educated alternative. These were corporate companies - it made no meaningful difference to me if they were mildly less successful as a consequence. The only exception was one graduate educated at Harrow and Bristol. I gave him the job as an experiment. He was average at best.

I did this in the name of social justice: re-distributing opportunities away from those with unearned privilege.

Have I been unreasonable? Has anyone else done the same?

As someone who has worked in the advertising industry for 20 years and did not go to private school, you are being massively unreasonable. Two of the best and hardest working team members I ever worked with went to Eton. I didn’t know at when I first worked with them as they were internal moves to my team. All hiring should be on merit alone.

"Scholarship cash is mainly spent on pupils with sporting or musical talent, or on discounts for teachers’ own children" (British Sociological Association research - you can Google it). So, no I'm not bothered about this.

Yes, there may be a small number of poor kids who got in on scholarships I am rejecting, but I see that an acceptable level of 'collateral damage' in pursuit of the greater good. Given the level of prejudice in favour of the privately educated in many areas of the employment market, they will likely be fine in getting a job elsewhere.

There are currently around 6,000 children of serving military personnel in boarding schools (whilst their parents are often risking their lives) to allow them a decent education. You don’t know why people attend private schools!

What a load of tosh!
Of the top of my head in eldest DDs year,

2 kids were child carers who had zero social opportunities due to caring needs.
I Childs father died a Horrific death in front of said child in yr9
1 girl was raped and missed most of yr10 due to trauma.
2 children had moderate special needs which they put so much effort into overcoming just to pass GSCEs
1 child had cancer and went through successful treatment
2 children had parents diagnosed with cancer one who was terminal.

A blanket statement of those from state are worth more because they had more to overcome is bullshit. Everyone has their own trauma and it's not a competition, money doesn't shield you from shitty life situations.

"Scholarship cash is mainly spent on pupils with sporting or musical talent, or on discounts for teachers’ own children" (British Sociological Association research - you can Google it). So, no I'm not bothered about this.

Looks like you just cut and pasted from Google with no real understanding of scholarships and bursaries.

Just like a man and a woman with similar skills and experience on paper, I'm always going to assume the woman is actually better because she's probably had a LOT more to overcome.

In the industry I work in the reverse is true. There is a deliberate policy of promoting a women even if she is the less able candidate as traditionally it has been a male dominated environment and they are looking to improve their statistics.

Well given that has clearly been the case in my industry, I am helping balance things out.

Yes, in fact it is vital if we are ever going to achieve equity.

You're a dickhead @OP. And I say that as a comprehensive school educated ethnic minority person.

That's awful. Imagine your parents had scraped together to put you to private school and you were treated like this. And not everyone who goes to private school is rich, someone in my family is receiving a private education and her parents aren't massively high earners, a paramedic and a nurse, yet they do without to send her there.

You should be ashamed.

You can read the research for yourself.

www.britsoc.co.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2021/april/scholarships-do-remarkably-little-to-make-private-schools-more-socially-inclusive-study-finds/

Any advertising agency who put the OP in charge of recruitment deserves what they get. The OP clearly has no capacity for lucid or original thought.

@purpleboy are all these children at private school?

Although it's kind or irrelevant, my point wasn't about what they've overcome in their personal lives. I was talking about career and academics. So someone at private school and oxbridge and 10 years experience I am going to assume that yes, if they're now a senior manager, that was a somewhat easier path than someone from the local comp. Similarly, if a man has been promoted 5 times and a woman has been promoted 5 times, I'm going to assume that the woman had to work harder for those promotions and/or should actually have been promoted more.

Not in every case, of course. But as a rule.

@Onesonten I'm all in favour of this policy. You know why? Because for years and years and years, the reason it was male dominated was because even if there was a more qualified woman, the chances are the man got the job anyway. I remember two (privately educated, city-working) men whining at a dinner party once about their respective female bosses. The one man commented that "she only got promoted because of who she knows" and I literally burst out laughing. I asked him if he could honestly, 100% hand on heart tell me, that he had never had a male boss who had been promoted because of his networking skills or that was less than competent. He had the good grace to look a little shamefaced and admit that it was true, he hadn't universally had fabulous male bosses.

Yep, agreed. How unreasonable.

I did this in the name of social justice: re-distributing opportunities away from those with unearned privilege.

Why don't you go the whole hog, strike a blow for the disadvantaged by only picking ethnic women who vote Labour and are Lesbians?

You are a disgrace to your employer.

YANBU. There is an important difference between equality and equity.

Go on OP, tell us who you are. I’d love you to be brave enough to say this in public. But no. You hide in an anonymous forum. If you’re really proud of your hiring process you should admit it in public.

I fully support blind applications. It’s inexcusable how many privileged young adults get jobs because of connections etc, but your ‘correction’ method is deeply judgemental. I’m sure you’ve missed out on excellent potential colleagues over the years.

Aaah well. My Ds is ina private school because that is what met his significant SEN needs.

He's been disciminated against in so many ways as it is so one more way based on another, smug self satisifed person's blind prejudice makes no difference. [shrug]

Being described "unprofessional" bothers me not one jot. "Professionalism" by your definition is just a smokescreen for the domination of choice jobs through unearned privilege.

i think it’s legitimate to assume that someone from a state school has more potential than someone from a private school given similar grades, degree and experience.
I expect you have done more good than harm. No criteria will be perfect.

A good reason why recruiters should not look at candidates former schools. It’s not okay to judge on something a person had no say over.

That’s quite a chip on your shoulder.
You sound nasty and petty and worse you take pride in it.
Let’s hope others in your position are more professional.

👍

Sometimes I have rejected them even when they clearly would have done a better job

So companies are paying you to find the most suitable candidates and you are consciously rejecting those candidates?

Agree it’s a poor effort.

Prejudice is not good look