Spying on interviewers

[Canopus]

I am interested in setting up an organisation to spy on interviewers to gather information whether they are treating candidates with AS favourably or not. If a company has treated a candidate with AS unfavourably or subjected them to stupid tests, then the summary of the interview will be forwarded to an AS or ASD organisation. Eventually a database will be built up detailing which companies discriminate against people with AS. Is such an organisation a good idea or not?

[pumpkinpie]

It sounds very dubious to me. And what about other people with differnt sorts of sen?

[Canopus]

Why is it a dubious idea? It is a known fact that many interviewers are unfavourable towards people with AS and similar conditions. Companies that employ these types of interviewers should be exposed and shamed.

[cmuir]

Hi

 

I think it's disgraceful that anyone should be discriminated against on the grounds of age, race, sex, disability, etc. This kind of thing can be very difficult (near impossible) to prove. I don't think it's a bad idea, I'm just not sure how it could be done.

 

There are instances when candidates with disabilities would be unsuitable for a job ie someone who has ME applying for a post as a fitness instructor (sincerely hope that doesn't cause offence - I'm merely trying to illustrate that some people may not be suitable for certain posts due to high possibility of detrimental effect on their health and wellbeing). In those types of circumstances I think it is understable why someone should be ruled out. However, if a decision not to employ someone is made purely because of ignorance, then it makes sense to try and raise awareness to Personnel departments (interview panels). Written tests at interviews may well pose problems for people with an ASD, particularly 'psychology' type questions and IQ tests. Interviewers need to be aware of that.

 

In short, I don't think it's a bad idea. A lot of large organisations have those 'Investors in People' type awards, and blacklisting such a company due to ignorance is no bad thing if it can be proven that someone has been discriminated against on the grounds of having a disability. I think it would be much better to increase awareness of ASDs and educate potential employers about the positive characteristics than people can have (excellent timekeeping, honesty, ability to work on own initiative, etc ? I've heard of a factory in Sweden whereby 92% of the workforce had an ASD).

 

Caroline.

[Canopus]

I have recently contacted a number of engineering and IT companies and tried to raise awareness of AS but the results haven't been very promising. In two cases the results were very negative and came from managers qualified with a technical degree. The first manager had never heard of AS, but when I mentioned that it is a variant of autism, he replied that someone with AS must then be mentally retarded and therefore unsuitable for a high calibre job in such as in engineering. The second manager had heard of AS and brought up the issue of poor social skills and made a reference to yobs and thugs with no manners or respect for anyone. He then commented about the increase in the number of people diagnosed with AS over the past 10 or so years, and how he has seen it for himself with the increase in the number of juvenile yobs and thugs in hooded tops that has taken place over the same period. Next he stated that he thought that I perceived him as stupid as I am when it came to employing people with AS.

[Mumble]

The second manager had heard of AS and brought up the issue of poor social skills and made a reference to yobs and thugs with no manners or respect for anyone. He then commented about the increase in the number of people diagnosed with AS over the past 10 or so years, and how he has seen it for himself with the increase in the number of juvenile yobs and thugs in hooded tops that has taken place over the same period.

 

Canopus, this is appalling and makes me very very angry

 

And my university tutor wonders why I'm so worried about disclosing my recent AS diagnosis . . . I'm terrified of the prejudices I will face in 2 1/2 years when I have to face the world of work again

 

If anyone knows of anyway of challenging people's prejudices and actually helping others to understand I'd be very interested to know.

[Canopus]

If anyone knows of anyway of challenging people's prejudices and actually helping others to understand I'd be very interested to know.

 

I have contacted the IET about disabilities, and made a particular reference to AS. So far they have shown a complete lack of interest and rubbished the article about Dagenham.