Firms Still Wary Of Hiring Ethnic Minorities: Study

Research commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission suggests there's a disconnect between employers' values and their actions when it comes to hiring ethnic minority youths.

As part of a study into the education and career pathways for young ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, researchers conducted phone interviews with hundreds of employers.

Overall, respondents disagreed with 11 negative statements about ethnic minority employees put to them by researchers – such as "cultural and religious differences may lead to conflicts".

Dr Rizwan Ullah, the deputy convenor of the EOC's policy, research and training committee, said a mindset change is needed.

"The employers need to be given some incentive, in particular the SMEs, to get these locally educated EMs to be on board, and I'm sure some smart accommodation can make some changes," Ullah said.

"And of course, as we always advocate, if the government take a stronger lead, hire more non-Chinese speaking kids in different postings, I'm sure that will change the employers' mindset and the society's mindset."

Respondents to the phone survey also agreed with the statement that it was understandable not to hire those from ethnic minorities because of a low proficiency in Chinese reading and writing.

Dr Simon Chan from the Baptist University's department of social work, said a tailor-made Chinese-language curriculum is needed for ethnic minority youths, as the existing curriculum is "very elementary" and doesn't meet their needs when they enter the working world.