Two United Bermuda Party politicians are divided over Government proposals to force employers to increase the proportion of black Bermudians in senior management positions.

While Shadow Minister for Empowerment Jamahl Simmons says some level of affirmative action is needed to increase the proportion of black Bermudians in senior management, Opposition Sen. E.T. (Bob) Richards says the proposals failed to understand how businesses work.

Mr. Simmons said: ?Too many of our young people have spent years working and studying hard only to return to Bermuda and feel left out of the economic prosperity of our country.

?Too many of our people are giving up hope that they will ever be able to advance their careers, purchase a home or even just make ends meet in their own country.

?We have to restore hope that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can make it in Bermuda, regardless of race. A clear message must be sent that qualified Bermudians must always come first in employment and opportunity.?

But Sen. Richards, the president and chief investment officer of Bermuda Asset Management, said there cannot be a sense of entitlement for educated and qualified Bermudians to get higher positions, as they must also go overseas to get experience.

And he said the public education system was failing to turn out enough high calibre graduates to take advantage of future opportunities.

Sen. Richards said the proposal, if implemented, would be time consuming to entrepreneurs and add a further bureaucratic burden and cost to business, particularly smaller companies that may include between ten and 20 employees.

?Whoever wrote this document does not understand how business works. I don?t believe the gulf can be narrowed by bureaucratic means,? Sen. Richards said.

He also strongly disagreed with Government that many companies only claim to be equal opportunity employers while they are not taking steps to show they are equal opportunity employers.

?A lot of employers feel they are fair people but have not taken affirmative action to address this problem but their objective is not to redress macro-sociological issues but to make a profit,? he said.

While Mr. Richards acknowledged blacks are under-represented in higher management positions, he did not accept that blacks have not made any progress.

?You must go beyond the statistics,? he said. ?Life did not begin in 2000 (the period covered by the Annual Workforce Survey, 2000-2001). In my lifetime blacks have made progress, so you must look at the historical perspective.

?What is the situation in other English speaking western democracies such the US, Canada and UK? Are we better off, worse or the same? It?s all relative.

?International business is the driving force of Bermuda and the senior executives of those countries will come to Bermuda with their own values, mores and practices. International business will bring in their own people, not all of them are qualified but they have the experience to get in.?

But Mr. Simmons said he believed affirmative action was an effective method for advancing qualified black Bermudians into higher positions.

?When we look at the ones who are facing discrimination and wage discrepancies, it tends to be more black Bermudians than any other group,? he said.

?Expanding opportunity for qualified Bermudians who have been denied them in the past doesn?t necessarily mean that other Bermudians should be pushed aside.

?We are interested in a solution that deals specifically with the issue of why black and white Bermudians of similar educational backgrounds don?t seem to be making the same level of progress.

?What we seek is equality of opportunity, not retribution. Equality of opportunity doesn?t guarantee success. It just ensures that racism doesn?t stand in the way of success.?

Both Sen. Richards and Mr. Simmons urged Government to consult with employers and stakeholders on this critical issue.

?The Government can?t go it alone on this one,? Mr. Simmons said. ?There has to be a buy-in from the business community, a sense of partnership and shared goals. Only then can any programme designed to redress inequity be successful.

?This dialogue might be unpleasant and even unwanted by some but I believe that in the long run the goal of expanding opportunity for Bermudians and eradicating institutional racism is absolutely necessary.?