The government is considering denying multimillion pound contracts to companies that fail to employ enough black and Asian workers, it has emerged.
The Department of Work and Pensions confirmed that three pilot schemes have been approved which will see companies questioned on their workforce diversity before the government decides on the winning bid.
The idea to scrutinise companies seeking multimillion government contracts was first proposed by the Ethnic Minority Employment Advisory Group (Emag), launched last month to advise the government on closing the employment gap.
I hope it doesn't need stating how disgusting this proposal is, deriving as it does from the ridiculous notion that numerical disparites are proof of malpractice on someone's part. In truth several minorites have far higher than average employment rates which would be difficult to explain if one believes that they must be the result of racism. Businesses are there to make money, if they are ignoring large numbers of good candidates because of their race then surely a company which didn't artificially limit their supply of labour would have lower costs and would be able to win contracts on merit. If one were to suggest that medical schools which admit a disproportionately low number of white students should have their funding cut anyone outside of the National Front would recognise it as racist lunacy. The most absurd aspect to all this is that it won't even accomplish its goals, in the USA where this sort of thing is sadly not uncommon, the usual trick is to get a small company that meets the criteria of the racial bean counters to win the contract, they then subcontract the work to the most cost effective bidder.
This new racism was on show when the BBC Diversity Czar (motto- Making things from bad to diverse) Mary Fitzpatrick said:
This means one of two things, either the reporters should come from the actual country, in which case there are huge partiality issues, say what you like about John Simpson but he's unlikely to begin a report from Rwanda with "Death to the Tutsi pigs!!!". The photo fraud exposed by LGF showed what happened when Reuters relied on local photojournalists. Of course what she could mean is that Africa should be reported on by black people regardless of whether they are from Africa or not but they happen to look a bit like the locals, but are no more insiders than any other foreign reporter. In focusing on the practical problems with Mary Fitzpatrick's idea I am perhaps detracting attention from how morally obscene this sort of neo-apartheid racial separatism is. Honestly if I weren't a license fee avoider I would be pretty pissed off at having to pay this woman's salary, and come to think of it shouldn't she be restriced to commenting on Leprachauns and Guinness or does she not intend to practise what she preaches?
"I would prefer to see somebody who understands that culture, understands what's going on and can say, 'Look with me because I am part of this'. It feels more authoritative and more involved."...
Miss Fitzpatrick told The Observer that the BBC's team of foreign correspondents should come from the same ethnic background as the country they were reporting from.
The BBC said last night it was "absurd" to suggest that correspondents of the calibre of Fergal Keane, John Simpson, Jeremy Bowen and Orla Guerin "lack credibility with our audiences because they are white".
Quite right, their lack of credibility is entirely down to their persistant bias and overly emotive reporting.
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