[Boneco]

It's not my idea to start any controversy here at Geoexpat, but i'd like every member of Geoexpat to share any experiences about any sort of discrimination ( e.g. Language, Ethnicity, and so on...). Im a not a native-english speaker , but i've always been able to maintain a good level of English when i have to use it either written or Spoken( i dont even have what people use to say Spanish or Portuguese accent). While i was reading the South-China Morning Post Job Section, much to my amazement, i concluded that the majority of the jobs are for native-speakers only ; which i think it's not fair, except if you're an English Language teacher. Every Person should have the right to aply for any job regardless their background, skin colour...If an ABC or a BBC speak perfectly English does that mean their quality is inferior to the quality of a Native-English!!!!
I'm not trying to bash Native-english speakers by no means, after all i have many Brit friends but it upsets me to know that i'm going to be judged because of my native language....

[climber07]

Welcome to Asia!

Equal opportunity employment does not apply here. Descrimination in Hong Kong is real, but at least it's out in the open. In many places (like US) it exists just hidden under the surface (mostly due to lawsuits). However, unlike Japan at least most of the offices here don't list the "physical" requirements they are looking for for the new female receptionists and ask them to attach a photo with the CV. (as an example).

I've heard even native English speakers being desciminated against because of their backgrounds, ABC, Indian, etc (this is primarily for English teaching jobs). For some reason white/native english speakers seem to be the "often" desired image.

You don't have to look far to see the evidence of that. Just look for any advertizement for a new local property development. It's filled with snobby Caucasians in evening gowns and tuxedos looking like they're at a party in the French Rivera...(possibly drinking cognac). Not sure why that image sells the condos in Tung Chung but apparently it does..

[sunniefaith]

I'm from Singapore and am hired by EMB to be a Native English Teacher and i know of other NETS that were hired by EMB who are from Africa, Trinidad and other countries. So with EMB, it may not be a situation that you need to be 'white' or along that lines.

[XI_YAN]

Sadly discrimination is alive and well and every one suffers from it to a greater or lesser extent. Labels such as ABC, BBC, banana, egg, gweiloh, mainlander . . . . all show prejudice and discrimination. SAD SAD SAD

[KnowItAll]

>> Equal opportunity employment

Why should it exist? I recall HR in the US bending over backwards and in three other directions when minority employees needed to be fired because of gross incompetence.

What I don't get is .. why do people have the sense of entitlement that they should get hired into every job they feel they're qualified for?

climber : while I get what you're trying to say, I disagree with a fair bit of the hypocrisy that goes along with the equal opportunity thing in the US too.

[climber07]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

>> Equal opportunity employment

Why should it exist? I recall HR in the US bending over backwards and in three other directions when minority employees needed to be fired because of gross incompetence.

What I don't get is .. why do people have the sense of entitlement that they should get hired into every job they feel they're qualified for?

climber : while I get what you're trying to say, I disagree with a fair bit of the hypocrisy that goes along with the equal opportunity thing in the US too.

KIA: To my knowledge, equal opportunity employment is a myth and does not exist anywhere (nor should it). I completely agree with you that everyone has a right to hire whom they choose.

Trust me, you will not find me parading for "affirmative action" or any other type of legal measure because that simply introduces "forced bias" into the system and causes reverse discrimination.

In my opinion in a free market, ultimately it is the talent that will determine the success. If more qualified people will constantly get turned down for jobs from a particular employer, they will ultimately get hired by the competition and eventually outperform the original employer. Thus, if you're not hiring based on someone's ability, ultimately in business, you will lose.

[hullexile]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

>> Equal opportunity employment

Why should it exist?

Because...

Unfair discrimination can work against the organisation by limiting the pool of potential candidates and by encouraging groupthink

Discrimination is good (i.e. you need to pick the best person) but discrimination on age, colour, religion, etc unless this is totally relevant to the job is unfair and can lead to many serious social problems.

Despite the crap that the media print and the extreme examples they choose, generally in the UK the discrimination law has worked OK (from a business perspective) in my opinion. If you want to fire someone for being incompetent then you fire them. But then we don't have the insane US legal system where lawsuits run into millions.

[KnowItAll]

First, we have to accept that there is discrimination, that is what separates monkeys from humans. My preferred color is blue .. does that mean I discriminate against pink? Yes. Fair? Unfair? Upto blue and pink to figure out.

At the end of the day, people want others who they are 100% comfortable with (here lies the solution for boneco) and who they know will work out well for them.

Lets see how many Muslim doctors get hired in the UK over the next six months.

[Boris]

In my experiance HK suffers from Positive discrimination.
Whatever your experiance and percieved suitability even the government lets it be known that the priority is to employ local people. You should all agree that this is every countries attitude. In the US there is SO MUCH discrimination on ethnic lines that they have a law to provide for ethnic minority suppliers to companies. A Black friend of mine has made a fortune from this legistation. Is that right? Who is then being discriminated against?

Boneco said " I concluded that the majority of the jobs are for native-speakers only " . Well in HK that means you have to speak Cantonese. Not unexpected when most of your office will use it all day and English is a language not used in everyday conversation.

I think there was some confusion on others parts in relation to English speaking teachers which does not seem to be the point of the original post.

[Max]

Climber07, KiA...if only everyone thought like you two, the world would be a much better place....

While affirmative-action-type policies should not be "forced" or imposed upon the system, it IS and MUST be introduced because of the underlying reality prevalent here, which is discrimination based on certain factors that have absolutely no bearing on the competence and ability of the employee to perform the task.

A free market may be the ideal situation for employers and employees where a person's skillset determines his competitiveness and ultimately his compensation, but tell me this, DOES IT REALLY EXIST?

Until people's attitudes and mindsets can change for the better, legal intervention IS and WILL BE necessary in many cases.