Employers have been urged to make definite efforts to avoid being biased against ethnic minorities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a report from graduate and diversity recruitment specialist Rare.

The report, ’Class, Race and Graduate Recruitment: Best Practices’, highlights that candidates from comprehensive schools are around 17% more like to be rejected by online application assessments such as psychometric testing and application forms than those educated at private schools, with black and minority ethnic candidates 14% more likely to be rejected at this stage.

It adds that face-to-face assessments may also lead to what it terms “blatant bias”.

Rare’s research executive, Naomi Kellman, says: “While there may be an initial cost involved in collecting additional data on candidates’ race and educational background, the benefits could be significant. I hope firms committed to diversity will realise this and begin collecting and analysing the relevant data.”

Managing director of Rare, Raphael Mokades, says: “Companies should also give assessors adequate training so that they are more able to probe each candidate’s personal circumstances, put their experiences in context and better assess potential.”

As reported by recruiter.co.uk on 21 October, Dr Pete Jones of psychology consultancy Shire Professional, speaking at the launch of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei), warned that trying to suppress unconscious biases merely strengthens them.