BBC Staff Told Not to Hire Candidates Who Are "Dismissive" of Diversity

BBC Staff Told Not to Hire Candidates Who Are “Dismissive” of Diversity

BBC staff are being told not to hire candidates who are “dismissive” of diversity and inclusion under guidelines critics say are a mechanism to maintain groupthink and promote controversial ideas. The Telegraph has more.

A recruitment policy document says applicants should be asked to “explain what diversity and inclusion means to you and, should you be successful, what opportunities do you see for you to promote, celebrate or encourage diversity and inclusion in your role?”

The guidelines, used in a major non-editorial department of the BBC, tell recruiters: “Don’t hire [candidates who are] unsuited to the organisation” if they are “dismissive or derisory of diversity and inclusion and surrounding topics”.

Managers are also directed not to offer jobs to candidates who show a “lack of interest in learning more where no evidence of education and understanding of diversity and inclusion was given”.

Critics have claimed that diversity and inclusion can be a way for organisations to promote controversial ideas.

Earlier this month, the Telegraph revealed that ministers were planning a crackdown on civil servants “using their jobs as a vehicle for political activism” in relation to diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Commenting on the recruitment guidelines, a BBC source said: “The BBC is not a welcoming place for those with conservative opinions. Management talks about diversity without embracing diversity of thought.

“The place that I have given years of my working life, and that I sincerely cherish, currently feels captured by Left-wing activists and is unable to deliver on our core principle of impartiality.

“Hiring on the basis of adherence to diversity and inclusion ideology excludes most conservative-minded people, and indeed much of the population.”

Robin Aitken, a former BBC journalist and author, said: “These guidelines illustrate just how embedded DEI [Diversity, Equality and Inclusion] ideology is in the BBC. The rules act as a mechanism to maintain groupthink and screen out anyone who is sceptical of this novel doctrine of diversity and inclusion.

“The BBC is now hiring not on the basis of skill or merit, but instead on people’s political attitudes to diversity.”