Australia - Telecom Operator Under Fire For ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Seeking Job Ad

Optus, the second largest telecoms operator in Australia, has come under fire for placing an advertisement for its Sydney store making its racial preference known for applicants when it stated that "preferred" candidates would be those "who are Anglo Saxon and live near to Neutral Bay”.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Preferred: Candidates who are Anglo Saxon | <a href="https://twitter.com/Optus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Optus</a> apologises for advert saying it is ‘unacceptable’ | Details <a href="https://twitter.com/SBSNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SBSNews</a> 630 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/diversity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#diversity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/inclusion?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#inclusion</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/workplace?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#workplace</a> <a href="https://t.co/9RPF3wGg7L">pic.twitter.com/9RPF3wGg7L</a></p>&mdash; Ricardo Gonçalves (@BUSINESSricardo) <a href="https://twitter.com/BUSINESSricardo/status/984635425338748928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The listing furthermore included three dot points about the role specifications, simply describing it as a "fantastic opportunity" for anyone wanting to get into retail and sales whilst at the same time promising a competitive base salary with incentives and benefits.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/Optus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Optus</a> for coming out. I&#39;ve been a loyal customer for 14 years and so have other thousands of non Anglo-Saxon Australians. I&#39;ll now switch to another network provider. I also hereby call upon other non Anglo-Saxon Australians to boycott <a href="https://twitter.com/Optus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@optus</a> immediately. <a href="https://t.co/YqWUUnfdII">https://t.co/YqWUUnfdII</a></p>&mdash; Maker Mayek (@MakMayek) <a href="https://twitter.com/MakMayek/status/984642504254353408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The social media flood of negative reactions over the insertion of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ was insurmountable for the company and pretty soon, Optus vice-president of human resources, Mr Paul Vaughan Paul stated that the ad would be retracted as his company "proudly supports diversity and employs staff representing more than 70 nationalities".

"This error is completely unacceptable and a clear breach of our advertising standards and commitment to equal opportunity employment."

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"We have removed the advert, and will be investigating how this occurred with a view to taking disciplinary action against those involved."

Source:

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/optus-posts-job-ad-asking-for-anglo-saxon-applicants-20180413-p4z9f8.html