Discrimination in recruitment and employment has a clear impact on young job seekers in the UK and their confidence.
Here’s what we know about this impact, and what you can do as an employer to ensure your recruitment practices are inclusive for ethnically minoritised young talent.
What does the research say about recruitment and discrimination?
Youth Futures Foundation’s recent Discrimination and Work Report states that discrimination is a significant barrier to work for young people.
They surveyed 3,250 young people, and 48% of them said they had faced prejudice or discrimination when looking to enter employment. 30% of those who are NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) said prejudice or discrimination, specifically in hiring practices, was a main challenge for entering employment.
“I’ve had experiences in interviews, networking or in the work environment where people will ask odd questions like ‘where are you originally from?’ and push that point, trying to make assumptions on perhaps my beliefs, my religion and other things which are unhelpful and not relevant to the job I’m trying to do.” – Yi Kang, Future Voices Group Ambassador with Youth Futures Foundation
Young people are concerned about the discrimination they will face, and this was found to be most common for Black respondents (35%), compared with all Asian respondents and those from Mixed or Multiple ethnicity backgrounds (both 25% respectively).
Young Black women (35%) and Asian women (31%) especially were concerned about employers having low expectations of them due to their ethnic background, compared to Black and Asian men (28% and 27% respectively).
Similarly in the Youth Voice Census 2024 report from Youth Employment UK, discrimination was identified as the biggest worry young people have for the country. 17% of those in work had personally experienced at least one instance of bullying or harassment and 24% had witnessed it.
Black, African, Black British or Caribbean respondents were most likely to personally experience bullying and harassment at work (14%) compared to 7% Asian or Asian British and 9% White respondents.
What do young people want to see in inclusive recruitment?
While social and cultural attitudes were the main challenge reported by young people, they suggested activities and interventions that they thought would help them find and access opportunities. They identified these 3 priorities:
- Guaranteed work experience (25%)
- Job application/interview skills (24%)
- Guaranteed internships/apprenticeships (22%)
Other solutions identified, while less popular, were initiatives to eradicate discrimination, guaranteed interviews, and local opportunities for employment and training.
How to ensure you are an inclusive employer
1. Report data related to diversity and representation in your organisation
Publicly report on ethnicity pay gaps and overall representation. Where possible, provide data on pay, working hours, promotion and representation in senior roles. Use your findings to address any gaps by creating strategic plans for your organisation.
2. Strive to reduce barriers for ethnically minoritised young people
Ensure your early talent pipeline activities are inclusive and equitable, by keeping ethnically minoritised young people in mind when attracting job seekers.
To explore how you can do this, explore this essential further reading: How to Attract and Recruit Young People from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds
3. Regularly review and assess your recruitment practices
Review recruitment practices to eliminate discrimination and bias, ensure imagery and use of language is inclusive, and ensure jobs are being advertised in places where young people can access them.
Further reading: How to Write a Youth-Friendly Job Advert
Explore how you can partner with schools and other organisations that support young people, like youth groups and job centres, to directly engage with young talent in their key transition periods.
4. Create quality opportunities aimed at ethnically minoritised young people
Using what young people have told us, they want to see (read above), this could involve guaranteed work experience placements and apprenticeships, or support programmes for job applications and interview skills.
5. Cultivate an inclusive culture
Ensure your staff know how to report and address discriminatory behaviour, such as racist remarks, jokes and ‘banter’, and non-inclusive behaviour. This should include behaviour from your staff and clients or customers.
Your staff and the people you work with should know that they can speak up and expect someone trained to manage the situation to help them.
Who Are Youth Futures Foundation?
Youth Futures Foundation is the national What Works Centre for youth employment, with a specific focus on marginalised young people.
They want to see an equitable future society where all young people have the opportunity to be in good work. They drive this by building the evidence base of what works in getting young people on a path to good work, and by putting this evidence into action with employers and policy makers to make direct, impactful change for young people.
Nishi Mayor, Director of Employer Engagement and Partnerships at Youth Futures Foundation, said:
“Our research found that seven in ten young people who had faced discrimination planned to switch industries. Not only are we failing our young people, but we are failing to address some of the key issues faced by employers today, from skills gaps to low productivity and a tight labour market. Employers should do more to ensure that their organisations are open to all young people: the cost for not doing so is too high on both sides.”
