Racism. Scenario 12 of 14. Who gets a chance

The CV pile

You are helping your manager, Louise, sift job applications. She puts one on the "no" pile after a few seconds. You glance at it: the applicant, Oluwaseun Adeyemi, has the right experience.

"Communication might be an issue," Louise says. Nothing on the CV suggests that. It is clearly written.

What is the best call?

Say nothing. She is the manager, and it is her decision.

Not the best call

A good candidate is being rejected because of a name. That is unfair to them, and it is against the law: race, which includes national or ethnic origin, cannot be a reason. Staying quiet makes you part of the sift.

Say, "Can I check that one? The experience matches what we asked for. Shall we score them all on the same list?"

Good call

You have brought it back to the evidence without accusing her, which makes it easy for her to look again. Suggesting the same checklist for everyone is a practical fix that takes guesses about names out of it.

Quietly move the CV back to the "yes" pile when she is not looking.

Could be better

Your instinct is right, and the candidate may get an interview. But Louise has not been asked to think about why she did it, so it will happen to the next name she finds unfamiliar. It needs to be said.

Say nothing now, and report her to HR straight away.

Could be better

If this is a pattern, HR should know, and that may be where it ends up. But a question in the moment might fix it today, for this candidate. Try that first, and keep a note of what happened.

The principle

Judging a candidate by their name is discrimination, and it is unlawful. Bring the decision back to the evidence: the same criteria, applied to everyone.

If this has happened to you, or you have seen it

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