I’ve always thought that the whole concept of quotas and targets for the employment of different classes of people is both patronising and misguided. If somebody is promoted to a position of authority just because they are, for example, female, black, disabled or whatever how are they going to receive the respect of their peers who have achieved their positions on merit? The only thing that matters is whether you are good enough. English law already provides protection against discrimination whether on the grounds of sex, colour, race, religion, nationality or disability. This is vital in the public sector and none of the above should ever be a bar to anybody seeking to advance themselves.
In the private sector it’s a different ballgame since market forces and rules will always apply. If a company or individual is not good enough then neither it nor he will prosper. Any commercially minded employer wishing to compete in the market place will want to employ the best available staff. He will not be interested in what sex, nationality or religion his employers are just as long as they are good at the job. If an employer has six vacancies and the best applicants are all women, for example, then he’d be a fool not to employ them.
Excellence is the only thing that matters and if your staff are not as good as those of your rivals then pretty soon you are going to struggle to be competitive and stay in business. It’s pure market sense, it’s common sense and in the dog eat dog world of big business there’s no place for sentiment or political correctness.
Common Sense 