In what critics say illustrates left-liberal “groupthink” at the British state broadcaster, a recruitment policy document at the BBC instructs staff not to hire people who are “dismissive and derisory” of diversity and inclusion.
The leaked recruitment policy document, revealed by The Daily Telegraph, obliges recruiters to ask applicants to “explain what diversity and inclusion means to you and, should you be successful, what opportunities do you see for you to promote, celebrate or encourage diversity and inclusion in your role?”
It goes on to say: “Don’t hire [candidates who are] unsuited to the organization” if they are “dismissive or derisory of diversity and inclusion and surrounding topics.”
Those in managerial roles are told to bar any applicant who shows a “lack of interest in learning more where no evidence of education and understanding of diversity and inclusion was given.”
Critics, including European Conservative commentators, have pointed out the inherently discriminatory and anti-meritocratic nature of diversity, equality, and inclusion (otherwise known as DEI) practices, and that many Western organizations’ obsession with it will only breed incompetence.
The BBC has long faced accusations of being unwelcoming to conservatives. This latest revelation will only reinforce this view.
An anonymous BBC source told The Telegraph:
The BBC is not a welcoming place for those with conservative opinions. Management talks about diversity without embracing diversity of thought. The place that I have given years of my working life, and that I sincerely cherish, currently feels captured by Left-wing activists and is unable to deliver on our core principle of impartiality. Hiring on the basis of adherence to diversity and inclusion ideology excludes most conservative-minded people, and indeed much of the population.
Robin Aitken, a former BBC journalist and author, said:
These guidelines illustrate just how embedded DEI ideology is in the BBC. The rules act as a mechanism to maintain groupthink and screen out anyone who is skeptical of this novel doctrine of diversity and inclusion. The BBC is now hiring not on the basis of skill or merit, but instead on people’s political attitudes to diversity.
Former British MEP and journalist Patrick O’Flynn also cast doubt over the taxpayer-funded BBC’s purported commitment to “impartiality”.
Wow. None of us who positively prioritize the goal of bolstering social cohesion over celebrating diversity will be offered a job at the BBC. Explains a lot about its skewed coverage of several key issues.
Meanwhile, British sociologist and executive director of MCC Brussels Frank Furedi promptly labeled ‘diversity’ the “new Loyalty Oath.”
The BBC, which says it “reflects and celebrates the diversity” of the audiences it serves, has thus far not offered to comment.
The revelations come as ministers plan a crackdown on civil servants who were “using their jobs as a vehicle for political activism,” in the pursuit of which they are wasting taxpayers’ money.
In November last year, the BBC also came under scrutiny when news broke that it employed 15 staff members in roles relating to ‘diversity, equity or inclusion’, with a total cost amounting to £600,000.
Given the degree to which DEI ideology is seemingly embedded in the organization, any initiative to root it out cannot be anything but comprehensive. Following that, safeguards must be put in place, so it may never worm its way in again.
