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IBM apologises for ethnic labels on job applications

IBM apologises for ethnic labels on job applications

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IBM has been called out for including ethnic group labels on its online job application form. According to Bloomberg, University graduates looking to apply at the multinational information technology company were asked to select their ethnic group before submitting an application.These groups were categorised as, "yellow", "mulato", "caucasian", "black", "coloured" and "indigenous". In a statement to Marketing, an IBM spokesperson said that the company's recruiting websites “temporarily and inappropriately” solicited information concerning job applicant ethnicity. The spokesperson added that IBM has rejected all forms of racial discrimination and is taking appropriate steps to ensure this does not happen again."Those questions were removed immediately when we became aware of the issue and we apologise. IBM hiring is based on skills and qualifications. We do not use race or ethnicity in the hiring process and any responses we received to those questions will be deleted," the statement said.Meanwhile on Twitter, IBM apologised to those who called the company out on the ethnic label. The company tweeted in response that some of its recruiting websites have been translated incorrectly. The company also said that it has removed the insensitive language and is reviewing all sites to ensure there are no further issues. Here are some of the tweets that were posted by job applicants:I was appalled to be asked on an IBM internship application to choose my ethnic group, and be given the choice of “yellow”. pic.twitter.com/LCmZnyGJkD— alex gao (@alex___gao) February 25, 2019.@ibm applied for a job on your career site. Aren’t these ethnic group labels a little antiquated? To make matters worse, I couldn’t submit my application w/o selecting an option. I ended up selecting “Yellow” and “Coloured.” @verge @NextShark @angryasianman #racism #ux #design pic.twitter.com/4YTS0uTssB— Rich (@RichParkNYC) February 18, 2019Last year, fueled by diverse hiring, promotion and retention, it was reported that IBM achieved progress on diversity representation among global executive women and underrepresented minorities. The company also advocated with governments around the world for policies that help ensure workplaces are inclusive and diverse.Read more:IPG Mediabrands and IBM place AI in the hands of marketersIBM and Salesforce ink global partnership on AIIBM names new global CMO

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