I think in the UK it’s more something like “if X has A*AA from a state school and has been working part time during school to support their family, they might be more talented than Y, who got the same grades at an elite private school while doing nothing else.” At least for graduate entry jobs.
Whether this happens in practice is another matter
I remember the BCLP graduate recruitment manager talked about this topic during the BCLP open day in relation to rare recruitment and how rare’s partner firms use contextual data. The original question she was asked was in relation to the USA DEI situation and how it would impact UK firms.
She used the example of average grades that schools get. If someone got AAB from a school that averaged DDD, they would be considered a stand out candidate compared to someone with AAB from a school that averaged AAB. If in addition to this, that same person was working part-time alongside studying, came from a low income background, etc. then this additional information would be factored in.
It also works the other way around. She explained that if someone went to a school that averaged AAB but came out with CCC, then that would be a major red flag for a recruiter reviewing the application. This also applies to university grades across every year of study. Some firms use this data to assess the attainment between private and state school students studying at the same universities.
She said that in the UK, information about your religion, race and ethnicity are anonymised to avoid any kind of discrimination in the screening process. I imagine in the US these things played a role in determining whether to offer a job or role, which would inevitably lead to some form of discrimination.
She used the example of average grades that schools get. If someone got AAB from a school that averaged DDD, they would be considered a stand out candidate compared to someone with AAB from a school that averaged AAB. If in addition to this, that same person was working part-time alongside studying, came from a low income background, etc. then this additional information would be factored in.
It also works the other way around. She explained that if someone went to a school that averaged AAB but came out with CCC, then that would be a major red flag for a recruiter reviewing the application. This also applies to university grades across every year of study. Some firms use this data to assess the attainment between private and state school students studying at the same universities.
She said that in the UK, information about your religion, race and ethnicity are anonymised to avoid any kind of discrimination in the screening process. I imagine in the US these things played a role in determining whether to offer a job or role, which would inevitably lead to some form of discrimination.
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