Cleaners wanted: must scrub spills, empty bins and promote diversity… Applicants for public sector jobs are asked to demonstrate a ‘commitment to equal and diversity’
- University jobs ask candidates to show their “woke” credentials
- A cleaner state ad includes “a commitment to equality and diversity”
Chefs, cleaners, construction workers and electricians applying for public sector vacancies are asked to demonstrate a ‘commitment to equality and diversity’ and their opposition to ‘discrimination and injustice’.
From administrative staff and academics to site maintenance and technical support, applicants for UK university jobs are also increasingly required towoke upreferences.
An advertisement for a cleaner at Northampton Guildhall states that the duties include not only cleaning toilets and emptying bins, but also ‘a commitment to equality and diversity’.
As well as preparing food and maintaining hygiene, a new chef at the University of Kent must ‘deliver and promote equality, diversity and inclusiveness’.
Durham University is looking for a full-time maintenance builder for work such as plastering, masonry and footpath repairs. Again, another requirement is ‘a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion’.
An advertisement for a cleaner at Northampton Guildhall states that the duties will not only include cleaning toilets and emptying bins, but also “a commitment to equality and diversity”
Durham University is looking for a full-time maintenance builder for work such as plastering, masonry and footpath repairs. Again, another requirement is ‘a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion’
In Staffordshire, even school cleaners are part of the trend. In addition to ‘mopping, polishing and sweeping’, applicants for a position advertised by Shaw Education Trust must ‘ensure that all work is completed with a commitment to equality and anti-discrimination practices’.
None of the advertisements explain how the candidate is expected to show this commitment or what evidence they must provide to show compliance with the stipulation.
Meanwhile, critics have criticized the rise of the “woke” cover letter. Alan Smithers, a professor at Buckingham University, said: ‘A moral frenzy is sweeping the country. The essential requirement of all types of personnel is that they are good at and dedicated to their work.’
According to Professor Dennis Hayes, the director of Academics For Academic Freedom, “The only value that should be required of an academic is dedication to the pursuit of knowledge.”
It is also feared that the trend of ‘virtue signals’ in job advertisements could contribute to the sharp increase in ‘economically inactive’ people over 50.
Chris McGovern, the president of the Campaign for Real Education, believes that such ‘flag waving for diversity’ discourages older people from applying.
“Virtue signaling doesn’t fool mature adults who have life experience,” he said. ‘To them, ‘wokeism’ is ‘fakeism’. ‘