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Comments and questions for the Equal Opportunities & Diversity debate
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Thu, 04/02/2009 - 16:31
The Second British Council Signature Event Voices for Diversity and Equal Opportunity in ELT starts in about one hour at 1625 GMT. Please leave any comments and questions in this forum or in the comments section at http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/voices-diversity-and-equal-opportunity-elt-signature-event or by tweeting us @iateflonline.
We will endeavour to have as many of your questions answered as possible.
Fri, 04/24/2009 - 14:32
#2
Thank you for pointing this out.
We have a policy of making sure we state 'highly proficient user of English' instead of 'native speaker', so if you could let me know where you saw this, I will make sure it is changed.
The issue of 'UK passport holders' is slightly different and the decision is out of our hands. It is based on our status in the host country and our ability to get visas. Apart from this sort of reason we would never state this in any advertisement.
Another related EO&D issue is that of age. Often individual countries will have their own requirements and restrictions such as Malaysia, that teachers of English must be over the age of 27 or Saudi Arabia where teachers must be under 60 so if it is a 2 year posting we say under 58. Some countries stipulate having a first degree as a visa requirement.
Hope this clarifies our position and any errors that slip through we will correct immediately.
Regards, Hector Low, British Council.
Sat, 04/25/2009 - 04:41
#3
Thank you for your comment. The wording 'English native speaker' still apears in at least two of your Teacher Recruitment ads at https://trs.britishcouncil.org/internetSSL/asp_websites/common/VacancyList.asp?jobTypeID=&geographicalUnitID=&britishCouncilUnitID=&earliestStartDate=&startDate= I also wonder about the wording 'familiar with contemporary UK', why is that a requirement if you recognise the status of English as a global language?
I would also like to know how you ensure that the EO&D policy is being implemented with professional integrity. What could probably happen is that a Filipino or Singaporean applicant is rejected under the pretext of 'UK passport essential', but an American or Canadian is hired instead. Or a 65-year-old Indian is rejected for a post in Saudi Arabia, but an Australian of the same age is accepted instead. In practice, I don't think it is possible to fulfill all the demands for English teachers if you really stick to 'UK passport essential' etc.
In addition, what can the public do if we suspect cases of discrimination in the British Council hiring process?
Tue, 04/28/2009 - 12:31
#4
It's really great that you have spotted these errors that have crept in by overseas managers using a very old template that I can only imagine they have saved and are not using the new template and guidance notes that we have posted on our intranet.
As a matter of urgency I have asked our recruitment staff who process the requests that come in from our global network to delete and replace any of the errors and to quality review any new ones that come in. I have also sent a message to all our overseas managers to ensure they use the new template.
We do not and should not use 'knowledge of contemporary UK' either in our recruitment information or in our selection process. As a cultural organisation we do want staff to have a sound knowledge of contemporary UK and this will be done at post, as required, through training.
I can only repeat what I said about UK passport holders in my earlier email. The decision is entirely out of our hands. It is based on our status in the host country and our ability to get visas. Apart from this sort of reason we would never state this in any advertisement.
Regards, Hector Low, British Council.
In some of the British Council teacher employment advertisements, you can still see the words 'Native speaker only' or 'UK passport holders only'. Isn't this contradicting the EO&D policy? To what extent is the EO&D policy being practised with professional integrity in reality?