The majority of HR leaders prefer to hire candidates from "elite universities"
More than half of Australian organisations are guilty of education bias, as their leaders admit a preference for job applicants from "elite" universities, according to a new report from the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA).
DCA's Class Inclusion at Work report revealed that 58% of HR and diversity practitioners say their organisation prefers candidates from "elite" universities.
These universities include the University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, University of Western Australia, University of Adelaide, Monash University, and UNSW Sydney, according to the DCA's report.
Based on the findings, 10.1% of organisations always prefer candidates from these universities. Additionally, 26% reported that they often prefer such candidates, while 21.9% indicated that they sometimes do.
Some 18.7% said they rarely prefer candidates from elite universities, while 23.2% said they never do.
The findings highlight the presence of education bias in workplaces, which the DCA report described as showing preference for applicants and employees who attended elite private schools or universities when making recruiting or promotion decisions.
Class bias in workplaces
It is just one aspect of class bias highlighted in the DCA report, which underscored the negative implications for employees and organisations.
"Your social class shouldn't determine your career opportunities, yet our research shows class bias still impacts who gets ahead and who is left behind," said DCA CEO Catherine Hunter (pictured above) in a statement.
"At a time of rising cost-of-living pressures, skills shortages, and economic uncertainty, organisations that allow class to influence hiring not only entrench disadvantage, they risk overlooking valuable talent that can boost productivity and drive recovery."
Addressing biases at work
The DCA urged organisations to recruit for class diversity to promote inclusion in their workplace.
"Avoid recruiting and promoting someone because they attended an elite private school or university," the report read. "These are much harder for class-marginalised candidates to access and are not necessarily predictors of job performance."
It is also important that organisations avoid networking opportunities and social events that involve a high cost to participate, such as theatre, golf, cycling, and fine dining.
"Class-marginalised workers are less likely to have disposable income and more likely to face long commutes, as affordable housing is typically located further from city centres," the DCA said.
Leaders should also use inclusive language at work, as well as be mindful of assessing talent based on "rich" traits, such as having credentials from elite institutions.
"Look past whether applicants are the sort of people you like to spend time with," the report read. "Instead, identify what is missing from your organisational culture and which values are key to that culture. Then recruit people who can bring these qualities to the organisation."
Class-marginalised employees who work in inclusive environments are 23 times more likely to report that their team is always innovative, and 5.5 times more likely to say that their team always works effectively together.
Additionally, these employees are also 3.3 times more likely to stay with their current employer.
"By focusing on practical actions across recruitment, development, progression, and workplace culture, organisations can unlock talent that is too often overlooked and ensure everyone feels included at work," Hunter said.
