An agency has been accused of discrimination after a “registration of interest” exclusive to female applicants and applicants from ethnic minorities.
The bizarre ‘registration of interest’, which is believed to serve as a preliminary round of an actual job posting, was shared by GCHQ, an intelligence agency from the UK.
In their preliminary registration, the agency called for would-be applicants to step forward while telling people that “this Registration of Interest is only open to those from an ethnic minority background or women from any ethnic background.”
“At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions,” the document read.
“We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.”
While the agency claimed to welcome applications from everyone, they warned would-be applicants that white males are not welcome in their registration of interest on two occasions.
“Please note this Registration of Interest is only open to those from an ethnic minority background or women from any ethnic background,” the note, which was shared in bold font at the beginning and the end of the text, read.
After the racist post went viral, private citizens as well as political figures were quick to accuse the agency of hypocrisy and brand their call to action as discriminatory and disgraceful.
“It is completely unacceptable. It is disgraceful to be perfectly honest. Why they think they should be able to discriminate on grounds of race and sex is beyond me,” MP Philip Davies said in a statement obtained by MailOnline.
“Most people would think it is disgusting for employers to say they will filter people out of jobs on the basis of race. It is completely and utterly unacceptable.
“It should be illegal and everybody, apart from obviously the morons at GCHQ, knows white working class boys are the one category with the worst outcomes in the UK.”
Following the backlash, the GCHQ defended their decision saying it was done in accordance with the Equality Act because their exclusive offer was referring only to the ‘registration of interest’ and not an actual job posting.
“This registration of interest is one of a number of steps we’re taking to encourage more women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds to consider careers,” a spokesperson for the agency told MailOnline.
“When the job advert for this role does go live anyone will be able to apply for it.”
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Replaced!