What’s in a name? Should you conceal your gender and race in applications?

We're on the road to nowhere?

I was disappointed to read a series of articles showing how much prejudice about race and gender can still affect your chances of success, even at the most basic level, the CV and application form.

See this government ‘sting’ operation,  sending out identical CVs with different names, from clearly different ethnic communities :

They found that an applicant who appeared to be white would send nine applications before receiving a positive response of either an invitation to an interview or an encouraging telephone call. Minority candidates with the same qualifications and experience had to send 16 applications before receiving a similar response.

And this study on gender, shows an interesting result – male and female recruiters perceived male and female applicants’ resumes differently:

Male recruiters perceptions of applicants work experiences did not differ depending on applicant gender. However, female recruiters perceived male applicants’ resumes to report more work experiences than resumes of female applicants.

Although another study I found did not report a difference between male and female recruiters’ perceptions, but did find:

…highly qualified applicants were preferred over poorly qualified applicants, male applicants were preferred over female applicants…

I think unconscious bias plays a part in these decisions, but there may also be conscious negative associations. Some may assume that someone with a ‘foreign’ name won’t be as fluent in English, that they might need a visa (and then they’ll have to process it…), or they may feel they can’t identify with a candidate if they aren’t even sure how to pronounce their name. Regarding gender, if someone is applying contrary to current gender stereotypes in that role, there may just be a feeling that they don’t ‘fit’. None of these things may be true, fair, or reasonable, but clearly it can affect your chances at making it through the first quick sift.

So what do you do? Some have been known to anglicise a name, or use an initial instead of a full first name. While it can get your foot in the door, you do have to ask yourself, ‘if this company wouldn’t have looked at me before, do I want to work for them now?’. Alternatively you could attempt to proactively counter peoples’ negative assumptions – write a particularly fluent and expressive cover letter, demonstrating your excellent communication and your successful performance as part of a team working on a related project. It can be frustrating if you feel you have to put in more effort here than most to get the same response, but time spent in tailoring applications is always worthwhile, and could make a connection. Or, finally, you could spend more time researching companies and looking for those who clearly make a positive statement about equal opportunities, with demonstrable results, good diversity right up to the highest levels of the company. On a personal level, that would hopefully give you the best chance of a long and successful career, but doesn’t that mean you are limiting your choices?

I can’t help but feel there is no right answer, since it is the world-at-large that needs to change, not you. What do you think? Have you felt discriminated against in this way? Do you have any tips or approaches? Or do you think it is best not to change your methods? It is their loss after all!

Training for female film-makers

In association with Skillset, Birds Eye View are offering a range of training for female film-makers at reduced prices. These would be excellent networking and learning opportunities.

• LFA presents: Post-production reinvented
• NFTS presents: Marketing in the Digital World
• BAFTA presents: How Shooting on HD is changing Hair & Make Up
• Ravensbourne presents: RED Camera work flows
• VET presents: Digital Cinematography – the implications for women in the camera department
• Escape Studios presents: 3D Graphics and Visual Effects
• Training / Doc: Shooting Women + Director Q&A
• Pitch & Connect and Meet the Producers with NPA
• Open Screen
• Meet the Filmmakers: in partnership with Shooting People
• Shooting People Presents: Let’s Get Digital

The organisation, Birds Eye View, looks like one to keep an eye on, as it is dedicated to supporting and celebrating the work of women in film-making. Why?

Did you know that only 6% of film directors and 12% of screenwriters are women?

Exactly. So take a look at their site, the blog has some great interviews. Or you can find them on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

City Girl on life as a female trader

I just wanted to point readers in the direction of this interview with City Girl on the UCL careers service blog, where she argues that contrary to stereotype, discrimination is less likely to be a problem for a trader as everyone is judged simply on the bottom line figures. Trading is a meritocracy with clearly defined results that are hard to argue with. It is an interesting read, with some top trading tips.

There is more from Barbara Stcherbatcheff on her website, in this article ‘Trading – no job for a nice girl?‘ where she tackles some myths about the culture of trading, and ‘Where are all the Citygirls?‘ which I also recommend.

What would put you off from a career as a trader? Is it the hours, the culture, or a perceived lack of equal opportunities?

White males under-represented in medicine?

Image by Waldo Jaquith

If you are interested in medical careers, I recommend this opinion piece by Noel Plumridge in Health Service Journal, exploring the changing landscape of gender and ethnic background across the medical profession. Here are just a few of the facts and figures.

The headline grabbing under-representation of white males refers to the figures that they make up:

40 per cent of all school leavers, but only 27 per cent of medical school acceptances in 2007

Though it looks like this is mainly due to a fall in applications from white males.

Women now form the majority of training intake, yet it is interesting to see how the gender balance changes across the specialities:

49% of public health doctors are female
44% of pediatricians are female
29% of anaesthetists are female
8% of surgeons are female

A striking variation which Noel ascribes mainly to women tending to choose specialities which allow part-time, flexible and planned hours, and which feature more patient interaction.

If that gets you wondering why, see Noel’s article!

Dyslexic teacher wins outstanding new teacher award

Despite facing setbacks at school due to his severe dyslexia, Edward Vickerman pursued his dream to be a teacher and has clearly become a great success! I found it a really inspiring story, and illuminating to see how he got there.

Overcoming barriers

Edward didn’t take no for an answer when two teaching colleges turned him down because of his dyslexia. He sought out the college that would proactively support him and help work through potential problems. He also refused to be rail-roaded into staying in hotel management, or the family business – it is clear he had to be determined to pursue his career choice.

When it comes to his students, from the start he tells them upfront about his dyslexia, how it might affect aspects of his work such as in marking, and then he moves on.

For Edward, being dyslexic means he has had to find a range of ways to teach, rather than just ‘chalk and talk’. In particular he has embraced new technologies as well as active learning methods. This creativity in approach has benefited students too as the variety engages them, and for some they discover different ways to learn that completely transforms their attitude to classwork.

See The Guardian’s story for more details, and listen to Edward Vickerman talk about his experiences.

The new Reach website is going to feature inspiring stories such as this – coming early November…

Women bullied at work – women bullying at work!

A survey from Unison has revealed that one in three young women have experienced bullying at work. The majority blamed the recession for increasing work pressures and leading to reduced enforcement of anti-bullying policies, however that was not the only cause…

What struck me particularly was that:

Results revealed… that the most common bully is an older woman in a more senior professional position.

Which very much ties in with anecdotal evidence I have seen that suggests women frequently don’t stick together in the workplace. I recently read a blog post giving a very different perspective on careers tips often given to women, which stated that women should avoid all-women networking groups, pointing towards this research on intra-female work relationships (a tall poppy is someone resented by peers because of their particular success).

The research appears to indicate that a talented “tall poppy” is in a conundrum: if she is successful, she risks exclusion by her female peers. If she “plays small”, she risks her own personal and professional fulfillment. This study examines a perplexing concern for many females: It sometimes appears that when talented, successful women try to flourish, there are frequently nearby females ready to pull them down.       - Mancl, Anne C (2006)

Apparently female-female relationships are particularly bad for tall poppy syndrome. A woman who is successful may be resented and cut off by her peers, so she then in turn bullies them back? It is disappointing to see that women should feel so threatened by each other in the workplace. Clearly this represents a challenge to schemes that seek to help women break through the glass ceiling with the goal of creating trail-blazers. Will these women facilitate others or keep them down?

Nevertheless, please don’t take this research as proving that all women, in all career sectors, at all levels behave this way. The research was based on a limited sample examining a particular phenomenon. Indeed bullying can often be endemic within one organisation, but a complete no-no in another. So just be aware that it does happen, and it is something to be watch out for when evaluating an employers’ work culture!

“Recession is putting more men than women out of work” reports People Management

Often the focus of events and schemes posted here relate to helping women break into areas where they are under-represented, however that’s not to say that men don’t face gender-related issues too. People Management have reported that the recession has caused more of an increase in the male unemployment rate – with a 50% rise as compared to 33% rise in female unemployment. This has led to the headline-grabbing prediction that 1 in 10 men will be unemployed by 2010 if trends continue, with the current rates showing:

At 9 per cent, the male unemployment rate is significantly higher than the female rate of 6.9 per cent

Worryingly, they note that the worst affected are:

Young males aged 18-24 and black men are the demographic groups most likely to be unemployed, the statistics revealed, with one in five of both groups out of work.

Perhaps this male-female imbalance is due to the recession affecting some sectors worse than others, with the worst affected areas being the ones which tend to be more male-dominated. As The Guardian has recently reported, the service sector is showing recovery, with hospitality in particular showing strength – an area that is more female-friendly. And as the People Management article suggested, the female unemployment rate may rise if cuts in public sector budgets lead to staff cuts.  So maybe this story is revealing another reason for pursuing a more even gender balance across career paths and sector  – so that when the economic strengths of the country shift, the balance of men and women in employment remains the same.

Or do you have an alternative theory?

Women into IT – networking opportunities

And that’s networking in the person-to-person sense rather than PC-to-PC!

For women interested in IT, there are a growing number of professional networks available offering training, workshops and general networking events that could be really useful to help you find opportunities and decide if the culture of IT is for you.

Here are some networks you might like to take a look at:

• Silicon Stilettos, London http://www.meetup.com/Silicon-Stilettos/
• London Girl Geek Dinners http://londongirlgeekdinners.co.uk/ (not in London? Girl geek dinners are global – see http://girlgeekdinners.com/ for a range of locations within the UK and beyond).

London Girl Geek Dinners recently included notification of a Bank of England networking event for female students and graduates interested in IT on Thursday 29th October which is definitely worth a look.

Please note, I have not attended events with either of these so don’t see this as an endorsement, rather as a suggestion of something to try!

The Women in Technology website is also well worth a look  as their events calendar is packed with related networking events, workshops and more (N.B. some are free but not all, so make sure you check the costs before you signup).

And finally, the UKRC – United Kingdom Resource Centre for women in science,  engineering and technology, website includes listings for events across the UK as well as links to the GetSET Women community, and training funding opportunities.

If you attend any of these events, why not share a quick review on the forum!

On EHRC “Beyond tolerance” report

Gay men in particular (40 per cent) felt that there are some jobs they had not considered, or would not consider because of their sexual orientation. A third of lesbians (32 per cent) felt the same way, as did 13 per cent of bisexual men and one in 10 bisexual women.

 Ellison and Gunstone, 2009
- p. 20

Beyond tolerance: making sexual orientation a public matter

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/research/beyond_tolerance.pdf

Employers should benefit in terms of productivity if they take proactive steps in creating an atmosphere where people can be who they are without fear of prejudice…        - p.22

Half of teachers who say they are aware
of homophobic bullying in school say the
overwhelming majority of incidents are
never officially reported or dealt with. - p.24