[jaxie]

I've been thinking about this subject in a round about way recently as I have a couple of young family members looking for work and I've been helping them. I've noticed a lot of jobs now seem to ask your sex, ethnicity and if you have disabilities and it made me wonder whether asking is actually detrimental to candidates from all ethnicities and disabled or not. I mean surely the employer should be concerned with a good CV and cover letter, not what colour your skin is. Why should all of that matter even before the interview process? They say it's so they can be diverse but does that mean they are discounting people based on ethnicity before they've even met them? Are they in fact in some cases discriminating against white men? It does make you wonder as gender and race is almost always asked for on applications. I understand with a disability you may have special needs but instead of asking all the questions they could just add a box asking if you have any special requirements and let you explain.

I do believe all candidates should get a shot, regardless of colour, based on the abilities and experience. If you are the best qualified that is all that should be important.