It bothers me. I think that it's wrong to hire someone based on their skin color. So many Chinese people don't understand that you can be non-Caucasian and still be British or American or Australian.

From my experience, it's mainly private language schools that hire "white faces", even if they have terrible English. It's ridiculous.

I dont work as an English teacher but I am beween two trains of thought to the question of "Does it bother me" In a purely teaching perspective it bothers me a lot, because the only considerations should be if a person has the ability to teach the subject and if they have the correct pronounciation need for the oral component.
The other side of the argument is that they have to attract students and it is very obvious to everyone that the market want western looking teachers, so it is not really the school to blame here but the consumer.
Apply the same question to say a flight attendant. Does how they look and their height have anything to do with how they perform their job?. Of course not, so why do theyhave to meet age, height and appearance criteria. Same reason , public perception and consumer expectation. Not saying it's right it's just how it is. And it's not only in China thatthis applies.

I wouldn't consider working at a school like that.

Of course being so shallow as to choose someone for only their appearance is horrible.

But like everything else in China, they only care about how it looks at a distance. Look at any building, any company, any display for that matter. The Chinese mentality is to make it look great from far away or from a quick glance. The closer you look the more you see the horrible quality they accepted for even their show pieces. The same applies to their foreign monkeys. If they are going to pay extra for a laowai, then stuff like qualifications and horrible accent don't compare to how import the company will look to the customers.

So you can be pissed off at a company for being racist, but it's the mentality of their customers that have to be changed first. The mind of an average person needs to understand that appearance does not decide a person's worth. Until then, bitching about a school is just about as useful as pissing in the wind.

I'm not a "Teacher" but an: "English Language Facilitator" and here's my take on the biz and discrimination:
No, it doesn't really bother me as where I come from they have Affirmative action policies and being white or "Caucasian" I feel that was a form of reverse discrimination. Having said that I never had a grudge against any "minority" races or women over the policy, but I didn't care for the Government having said policy in the first place, but if i was a "minority" I would have also took advantage of the program I'm sure, so that's life, that's the way the cookie crumbles... Having dealt with that most my life (I lost 3 opportunities for Federal jobs being that I was to white and a male) I don't loose sleep over it here, it's their company policies, I guess here I'm the "minority", I'll take the job this time, thanx! Having said all that... EVERY company I've worked for here in China my colleagues have included , Blacks, East Indians, Middle Eastern and Asian people who were native speakers so I've yet to work anywhere that discriminates based on Race. Stick with the big companies if you are worried about that (EF-Smart,WEB, Wall street, NDI)

Nope.

It's sad for the kids really. Some teachers I've come across really have awful accents and/or terrible English (British and Americans included). I completely understand that it's because of the parents. I just want to know what it's like in the brains of these parents. Like what are your ultimate goals for your children? To know a white person?

I wish they would interview their "Attitude" above all else!!

as a black guy i dont think it should bother anyone, this is china, it is not "civilized society" we all benefit from discrimination in china. i still can find a job anywhere in china for the same pay as a white guy. some schools also hire only black teachers because we all can" sing and dance and play basketball" (except me , i must be white on the inside )if you come here expecting enlightenment or think you will educate the chinese on how to treat and think of everyone as equals you will be sadly disappointed because you will learn that chinese wont put faith in anything thing you say (regardless of your skin color) because only chinese (han) are real people.

It doesn't bother me in the least. I honestly couldn't care less whether ethnic minorities get a job or not as an English teacher. All the schools I have worked for don't hire non-native speakers for the reason Woody explained, being the consumers fault through ignorance. Having said that, they do hire blacks and Indians but only as a last resort. There is a shortage of native speakers in China and the number of schools grow every year (easy money). I personally find that they hire people who are not Caucasian when they cant find a native speaker. They try to pay them less and take advantage of them. Most of them jump at the chance to brown nose their Chinese boss and resent the native speakers they work with.

The cruel exception being those native English speakers who are ethnic minorities.

I'm not whining nor am I complaining about it. I make part of those "native English speakers who are ethnic minorities" that the last poster mentioned and I speak better English and am more educated than the majority of Caucasians here (and Chinese for that matter). In the U.S. I would be hired over most people here for this same job so I'm not hurt about the discrimination. In fact, I'm only here to improve my Chinese (my third language) after four years of study in America and I teach just as a means of income. My question was merely out of curiosity. I have no desire whatsoever to reform anyone or anything in this country, including gold-digging Chinese women who want iPads, marriage and children (I think she should get all of the above btw .)

I once turned down a job where they had a pretty white French girl teaching English at one of the lower levels. Its difficult enough to train away the Chinglish, I wasnt gonna even try to train away French-Chinglish.

Hiring a white face doesn't bother me terribly. Its just when a school will go so far as to hire a white non native speaker over a non white native speaker that I have a hard time.

I once told a (black) friend of mine that I could get him a job in my town (Lianyungagn, Jiangsu province) only to later be told that there was no way he could get a job there. Ive been so embarrassed about it I haven't been able to talk to him since.

My boss at the time even fed us a line that there was a new Jiangsu province law baring all black people from entering the province! That I had a hard time with.

A local school in my last town decided to throw a fit, fire and then slander 4 white teachers rather than risk employing one half black teacher (it was a confusing circle of bullshit). That really messed with my head.

I once had a job offer from a private school. He was so enthusiastic about my coming to Ningbo, even calling me twice. Once he got a look at my QQ photo, I never heard from him again. He simply ignored my messages when I tried to chat with him on QQ, even when it was clear he was online. Good thing I am not in the job market here. I would be frustrated beyond words.

it does not bother me...

Hi chickman, no it doesn't bother me at all. There is lots of racism,prejudice,disrespect,intolerance,arrogance and STUPIDITY directed at Caucasians on a daily basis in one form or another by Chinese..and I would add South Koreans,Japanese,etc. I speak from much personal experience regarding these things. (Like many others.)

Bothered me big time. I told my boss how disgusted I was with their hiring policy and refused to act as a contact for all potential foreign teachers.

I don't think we have that policy in our college.  I'm from Russia & I hope I was hired for my good English but not for my blond hair. It's so stupid to reject people with good English who do not have the "right" skin color. I heard that Chinese Americans are often turned down by schools here just because "parents want a real foreigner". 

No. In fact, I never feel any kind of white guilt over anything. I'm not responsible for what other people do, especially for things that were done before my birth. And in this instance, I don't feel that agreeing to work for an employer that refuses to hire foreign teachers that aren't white means that I approve of the policy, even tacitly. All it means is that I've agreed to take their money to teach their students.

Racism bothers me

I have in my desk drawer an employment contract from an american company that states they will keep on record, personal information, such as racial grouping, and further down it says that any personal information will be shared with the companies partners if requested. This is for a job located in Europe

no offense taken but you are clearly wrong with your assumtions and when you assume

you make an ass out of u me  where iam at we have hispanics blacks whites africans

Yes, it bothers me. No, I won't work for them (or get out, if I have already signed and sealed).

i came here to teach. I spent a lot of money to learn to teach well. If the school doesn't want non-caucasians, then it also means they want a 'singing, dancing white monkey' - and not a teacher.

If you know English (well - including globally understood accenting), and can teach, you ought to have the job. END.OF.STORY!

Yeah, there's this apparent attitude in China that only white people can speak good English - but it's an attitude that needs to change!

(and, just for good measure, I'll be starting my Doctoral research soon, and it'll be precisely on this topic - no doubt proving once and for all that skin colour changes Chinese students' attitudes towards teachers).

I've never worked in such a place, or at least I've never worked in a place that openly admitted to such a policy. I've worked in two LTCs and neither of them have employed anyone except Chinese and Caucasians, but then again in two years in Nanning I cannot recall seeing anyone who did not appear Chinese or Caucasian, so I am not in a position to judge. I do know my first school only recruited 'pretty' receptionists / marketing girls as the DOS turned back one of  my recommendations at a recruiting fair (I was there to check the level of English).

If I was at a place that openly admitted such a racist policy I certainly would not renew my contract, and I would be looking for new employment ASAP and then leave.

I though I'd answered this before.

Yes, yes it bothered me intensely. I was once asked to interview a potential foreign (US) hire, and they were concerned he wasn't a 'real' native speaker. The basis for their concern was that he was somewhat tanned-ish, (and as Yank as they come).

On the other hand, my school were desperate to hire a "Canadian" who had turned up. The problem with the guy is that (along with seeming quite mentally unstable) he had very evidently never been anywhere near Canada in his life and couldn't string a sentence together. Even the Chinese staff with very good English could not recognize the difference between native and non-native.

I am not white (Pakistani by ethnicity), I've sent my photo to many employers and received a response from vast majority of them. But is there racism in China? Damn right!

Racism is common place in China, every race is affected, including their own.

@scotsalan, Excuse me white priviledge? 5 or even 3 years ago we all NEVER had heard this race baiting PC word! The only priviledge the white have is in politics as in congress the elite wealthy or the kkk ok? Am i to be forced to be ''ashamed'' if i was white now? Why should a white person [a color]] should be ashamed of slavery of blacks over hundreds of years ago? That is history and no white person now is responsible for this! If slavery is so bad and evil then why are the muslims in some countries right now still dealing in selling slaves? BTW many blacks in africa also were selling thier own black race to the slave traders to the US!