Anonymous CVs “don’t work”, says minister
A plan by federal labour minister Monica De Coninck to encourage the use of “anonymous CVs” in recruiting in the private sector has been rejected by Flemish labour minister Philippe Muyters (pictured). The use of anonymous CVs, which leave out personal information such as age, gender and even the person’s name, are intended to counter discrimination at the earliest stage of job applications.
“It has been demonstrated by international research that they don’t work,” Muyters told the Flemish parliament. “Gender, age and educational institutions can all have an undue influence, but if personnel services don’t get those details, there isn’t much of the CV left over.”
Muyters also pointed out that Flanders’ employment and training agency, VDAB, already allows job applicants to omit certain types of information from registration forms. However only about 2% of applicants make use of that possibility, he said.
