RAF jobs boss quits amid claims ‘offers to white men are paused to meet diversity targets’
- Sources say RAF recruiters have been told to pause offering roles to white males
- They claim it is part of a drive to meet diversity targets within this financial year
- Head of Recruitment at the RAF has reportedly resigned in protest of the move
- RAF have denied the allegations and state there is ‘no pause and no new policy’
Job offers to white male recruits of the RAF have effectively been paused to meet diversity targets, defence sources have claimed.
Women and ethnic minorities are reportedly being favoured in recruitment drives to meet ‘impossible’ targets, which has prompted the Head of Recruitment at the RAF to resign in protest.
The officer, a female herself, left the post amid concerns that hiring restrictions could undermine the strength of the service, according to sources.
Sources claim recruiters within the RAF have been told to temporarily pause offering roles to white male recruits in favour of women and ethnic minorities.
Sources claim recruiters within the RAF have been told to temporarily pause offering roles to white male recruits in favour of women and ethnic minorities
‘We are all really pro-diversity and we want to see better representation across the services but … levels of ambition for ethnic targets … are absolutely crazy,’ one source said.
‘There is no scientific or cultural background to these particular levels of ambition.’
Head of the RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Mike Wigston has been accused of willing to compromise the security of the UK to improve diversity within the force at a crucial time when threats from Russia and China loom.
According to Sky News, sources believe he should be ‘hauled up by the Ministry of Defence’ over the matter.
A spokesperson for the RAF disputed the allegations.
‘There is no pause in Royal Air Force recruitment and no new policy with regards to meeting in-year recruitment requirements,’ they said.
‘As with the Royal Navy and British Army, we are doing everything we can to encourage recruiting from under-represented groups and ensure we have a diverse workforce.
‘The Royal Air Force has a well-earned reputation for operational excellence that is founded on the quality of all our people. We will always seek to recruit the best talent available to us’.
Head of the RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Mike Wigston (pictured) has been accused of willing to compromise the security of the UK to improve diversity within the force
Over the years, the importance of improving diversity statistics has been stressed by successive Governments to all three of the armed forces.
Last year, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Head of the armed forces, spoke publicly about the importance of striving for more diversity and that it was all about ‘woeful’ statistics.
‘The woefulness of too few women,’ he said. ‘The woefulness of not reflecting the ethnic, religious and cognitive diversity of our nation.’
The Ministry of Defence has previously said it wants to increase the number of female recruits into the armed forces to 30 per cent by 2030. Currently, the ratio lies at 12 per cent.
The RAF wants the ratio of female recruits to hit 40 per cent by the end of the decade. It also aims to reach 20 per cent of all air force recruits being from ethnic minorities.