Diversity - Men and women and natural selection
Featured in the Valuing Diversity at Work training manual
By Ken Birkett & Val Rowland
Category: Diversity
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
The human resource is said to be the most valuable resource an organisation has, but it is the most complex. People differ in a variety of ways and organisations have the benefit of this diversity. Competitive advantage can be gained by organisations which match individuals with the needs of the job. Sometimes the best pairing between a person and a task is overlooked because of preconceived and irrational selection criteria. Gender differences have, for example, been seen as a justified reason for discrimination in employment, when the focus should be on fulfilling the requirements of the job. This training activity is concerned with preventing gender discrimination in recruitment and selection by encouraging organisations to examine their current practice.
You begin this training activity with an examination of a systematic framework for the recruitment and selection of staff. You explain the definitions of the process to the participants and introduce the specific issue they will be considering – gender discrimination. You follow this with an outline of the essentials of a person specification, needed in order to create effective advertisements. The participants then consider the key elements of a successful advertisement and go on to design an advertisement for the position of receptionist at a hotel. Next, you examine the aims of the selection interview, and the significance of questions in effective interviews. Finally, the participants discuss the suitability of example questions in an exercise aimed at differentiating between unfair questions based on false assumptions and objective questions designed to assess a person’s ability to do the job.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to prepare participants to avoid gender discrimination in the recruitment and selection of staff and to examine a systematic framework for recruitment and selection
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:05:00 |
| No of Pages: | 20 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with managers who recruit staff and need training to illustrate the benefits of focusing on job requirements rather than making discriminatory judgements about people.
Download the training activity, Diversity - Men and women and natural selection as featured in the Fenman training manual; Valuing Diversity at Work