People Like Us

Research
&
findings

  • 82%

    Of the employers who monitored their automated screening, 82% found outcomes differed by ethnicity

  • 15%

    Only 15% of candidates have ever been told an automated system was used on their application

  • 70%

    70% of ethnically diverse job seekers have altered or hidden something from their CV including their country of origin, faith and even their name out of fear software or AI assistants would reject them.

  • 42%

    42% of job seekers have received identical or near-identical rejection emails from different employers, a sign the same software may be rejecting the same people everywhere they apply.

  • People Like Us & Censuswide, 2026

New research from non-profit People Like Us and Censuswide reveals that automated hiring software now stands between UK jobseekers and work, rejecting candidates in minutes, sometimes before applications even close and most do not know that they can challenge it.

The survey of 2,000 UK job seekers found that 80% have been rejected in the past two years and of those, nearly three quarters (74%) suspect at least one rejection was generated automatically without a human reading their application. And they may never find out as just 15% of candidates say an employer has told them an automated system was used.

Ethnically diverse candidates are hit disproportionately as they apply for a third more roles than white counterparts, are rejected faster (41% within an hour of applying vs 32%), and are significantly more likely to remove elements of their identity from their CVs to get past automated systems (70% compared to 57%).

Email your MP

Reject the rejections

Automated hiring systems are rejecting people before a human ever reads their name. Ask your MP to support better hiring transparency.

A man in a grey suit stands in a corporate room, other people out of focus behind him.

Practical compliance tips for your organisation, from the ICO's guidance and UCL's research into fairness in AI-driven hiring.

Advice for businesses
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About the campaign

People Like Us champions ethnic minority talent until workplaces reflect the world they serve, holding organisations and governments accountable along the way. This campaign asks for two simple things: tell people in the job advert when automation or AI will be screening them, and check those systems for bias.