What’s in a Name? The Stark Truth About Bias in UK Hiring Practices

By The Malketeer

Ethnic Names Face 60% More Rejections: A Campaign Sparks Change

When Shakespeare’s Juliet pondered, “What’s in a name?” she could hardly have foreseen that, centuries later, names would become silent gatekeepers to career success.

In the UK today, workplace equality campaign group People Like Us is shining a harsh spotlight on this very issue with its latest campaign, #NameTheBias.

Launched on January 8th to coincide with Ethnicity Pay Gap Day, the campaign seeks to unravel the insidious role of name bias in perpetuating pay inequality for ethnic minorities.

Developed in partnership with creative agency Worth Your While, #NameTheBias amplifies an uncomfortable truth: ethnic names often shut doors before a candidate has the chance to walk through them.

Name Bias: A Silent Career Killer

At the heart of the campaign is a stark black-and-white film featuring British Bangladeshi lyricist, Yasmin Ali.

Directed by New-land’s Naghmeh Pour, the film provocatively reimagines Shakespeare’s timeless query.

But this time, it’s not a rhetorical question. The answer is disheartening.

According to research by Oxford University, job applicants with ethnic minority names must submit 60% more applications to secure a callback than their white British counterparts.

This systemic bias, the campaign asserts, quietly erodes career progression and earning potential for millions.

“This campaign exposes how name bias quietly contributes to unequal pay and career stagnation for workers from ethnic minorities,” said Sheeraz Gulsher, co-founder of People Like Us.

A Call to Action for Policymakers and Businesses

The film—set to debut at the House of Lords and Houses of Parliament—is more than just an emotional appeal. It’s a rallying cry.

People Like Us has released a new survey with Censuswide to underscore the urgency of this issue.

The campaign’s goal is clear: push for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting and compel businesses to acknowledge and address their internal biases.

Ali’s live poetry performance at the launch event promises to drive home the campaign’s emotional resonance, while practical tools and guidelines offered by the group aim to empower individuals and organisations to make tangible changes.

Exposing “Autocorrect Bias” and Beyond

This isn’t People Like Us’ first foray into exposing hidden biases.

Its previous campaign, ‘Autocorrect Bias,’ shed light on how technology often misinterprets and marginalises non-Anglophone names, further perpetuating workplace inequities.

Now, with #NameTheBias, the group aims to keep the momentum going by sparking national conversations and educating policymakers.

Worth Your While’s creative director, Tim Pashen, emphasised the importance of such campaigns.

“By sparking awareness and offering practical tools, we aim to empower individuals and push businesses and policymakers toward meaningful change.”

Why It Matters: The Bigger Picture

Biases, whether overt or subtle, cumulatively erode the principles of fairness and meritocracy.

Name bias isn’t just an issue for job seekers; it’s a societal problem that demands accountability from businesses and policymakers alike.

As the UK grapples with its stubborn ethnicity pay gap, campaigns like #NameTheBias provide a much-needed wake-up call.

By tackling the silent discrimination embedded in something as fundamental as a name, People Like Us hopes to pave the way for a more equitable future—one where every name gets a fair chance to shine.