Plans to force companies to mirror the racial demographics of the workforce are proving a contentious issue between the Island's political parties.

Government has said the measures are necessary to improve the lot of black Bermudians working in international business.

However many Bermudian office workers approached by The Royal Gazette to talk about the issue declined to do so while the rest agreed to do so on a non-attributable basis.

One black 33-year-old Bermudian assistant underwriter said fines weren't needed.

"I thought they already had Cure monitoring stuff like that," she said.

She said her company, with around 145 staff, was majority black Bermudian.

"I don't feel my progress is being blocked. If anything they have pushed me to work harder, to go upward. They helped with training, definitely."

If Government wanted to improve fairness in the workplace it should look at why housing allowances were given to expatriate workers and not local staff, said the woman.

But one black administrative worker at an international company told The Royal Gazette the Workforce Equity Act was a good idea.

"A lot of expats come down and it would be nice to give people like myself who don't have a college education at least the chance to learn from them."

The 30-year-old, who is about to start studying online to further her career, said many Bermudians didn't get the chance to keep going with their studies.

One white Bermudian risk modeller, in his early 30s, said the top levels of his medium size reinsurance company were packed with expatriates – but that was because they were qualified.

"Bermudians – white or black – fill the lower jobs. We don't have the experience, no matter what colour we are."

And he believed black and white Bermudians had an equal chance to get up the career ladder. But only if they put the work in.

The man faces a string of exams and years of studying to reach his goal of being an underwriter and he still wasn't sure if he had the apptitude.

"The opportunities are definitely here – but it comes down to experience and the willingness to put in the extra effort."

Asked about the Workforce Equity Act he said: "It's a bit unfair, I have to say. It's almost like racism going the other way.

"You are trying to say equality – for one side and force employers to hire someone they don't want to hire or choose one over the other dependent upon race.

"This is not going to work out practically."

He said the exempted companies were against the plan.

"This is not how you run business. This is definitely a threat."