2.4 Apply equitable and inclusive recruitment and hiring practices
Content
Description of Best Practices
Design selection processes that reduce bias and improve chances for women with diverse social identities to be successful (e.g., pre-defining selection criteria and varied assessment methods to analyze different strengths, and using behavior-based interview techniques,[1] and structured instead of unstructured interviews)
Develop assessment criteria valuing more diverse skill sets
Establish diverse interview panels to reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process
Revise selection criteria to support women and men from diverse backgrounds to become equally successful in the selection process
Implement mandatory unconscious bias training for all employees involved in the hiring process
Make gender balanced shortlists representative of diverse social identities a requirement for open positions
Use work sample tests to evaluate the candidate’s skills and competencies to avoid bias
Apply “blind” selection and evaluation principles, e.g., remove names, pictures, and birth dates from CVs when assessing applications and proposing pre-screened candidates to management for further consideration to reduce unconscious biases
Create a Recruitment Policy to formalize all targets and processes, including for hiring interns
Challenges of Implementation
In-depth candidate assessments and interview techniques to reduce bias, such as behavior-based interviewing, need additional training to learn the techniques and are more time-consuming, but at the same time, bring better results
Managers may resist relinquishing their hiring power to a panel
Expert coaching may be required to support revision of all related processes
What Success Looks Like
In-depth candidate assessment and interview techniques, such as behavior-based interview techniques, are integrated into the selection process Interview panels have at least one suitable representative of each sex
Greater gender parity and diversity in the pool of applicants
More women with diverse social identities are hired
Increased number and/or overall percentage of female employees
Resources and Tools
Guide: A Step-By-Step Guide to Preventing Discrimination in Recruitment (Australian Human Rights Commission)
Guide: Building Gender-Inclusive Workplaces in Singapore: A Practical Guide for Companies and Human Resource Practitioners (Singapore Management University)
Guide: Tailoring Organizational Practices to Achieve Gender Equality: A Best Practice Guide (Chapter 1: Recruitment and Selection) (Gender Equality in Decision-Making, GEM)
Guide: How to Run Structured Interviews (The Behavorial Insights Team)
Guide (incl. sample KPIs): Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Gender Inclusive Recruitment and Selection (USAID & ICF)
Guide: Gender Inclusive Recruitment and Selection: A Workbook for Clean Energy Incubators (USAID & ICF)
Guide (incl. Action Plan Template): Recruitment and Retention Toolkit (AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion)
Guide: A Toolkit for Recruiting and Hiring a More Diverse Workforce (University of California, Berkeley)
Tool: Adding a Gender Lens to Nontraditional Jobs Training Programs (Jobs for the Future)
Tool: Checklist for Diversity Hiring Process (Process Street)
Case Study: Philadelphia Water Department’s Effort to Make Diversity and Inclusion a Priority when Hiring Engineers (Journal AWWA)
Case Study: EVN Macedonia (International Center for Research on Women, ICRW)
Example (incl. Resources): Interrupt Bias During Recruitment (Queensland Government)
Report/Study: Recruiting and Retaining Women in Non-Traditional Positions (Center for Energy Workforce Development, CEWD)
Report/Study: Winning the Fight for Female Talent: How to Gain the Diversity Edge Through Inclusive Recruitment (PwC)
Article: All-Male Job Shortlists Banned by Accountancy Giant PwC (BBC News)
Article: How To Alter Your Hiring Practices To Increase Diversity (Forbes)
Article: 7 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process (Harvard Business Review)
Article: The Battle for Female Talent in Emerging Markets (Harvard Business Review)
Article: If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired (Harvard Business Review)
Article: Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified (Harvard Business Review)
Article: Diverse Interview Panels May be a Key to Workplace Diversity (Working Mother)
Article: The Maddeningly Simple Way Tech Companies Can Employ More Women (New York Times)
Article: How to Recruit More Women to Your Company (Harvard Business Review)
Video: Conducting Unbiased Interviews (Iris Bohnet)
[1] BEHAVIOR-BASED INTERVIEWING. Type of interviewing grounded in the theory that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation. With this type of approach, employers predetermine the core competencies or skills required for success in a particular job. When interviewers ask questions, they are probing for behavior patterns. This technique is also known as STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result. (Source: TPP Recruitment, Using behavioural interviewing).