BBC | Jobseekers told to disclose parents' jobs in diversity push

Following a push to increase diversity hiring at national broadcaster the BBC, hiring managers are requesting that prospective candidates divulge more information on their background, such as where their parents work, what qualifications they have and what school they attended.

Specific sections of the lengthy 14-page document now ask candidates to disclose whether their parents’ schools were ‘state-run, non-selective schools or independent fee-paying schools’.

This, according to officials at the company, will help it ascertain peoples’ backgrounds in greater detail, to ensure that the firm is hiring a ‘broad and diverse’ range of candidates.

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“The BBC has pledged that by 2020 we will hardwire diversity into everything we do, both internally and for all those who make programmes for us,” the BBC explained in an open letter published on the company’s website.