By this point, all of us (“us” being white people) should recognize there is ongoing work to do inside ourselves, our organizations and our communities to combat racism. Understanding our own implicit bias and how we view and treat others is important and necessary (especially when it comes to hiring), but addressing our individual bias is not enough to lead meaningful change and disrupt racist practices.
For purposes of this post, we’ll look beyond implicit bias and examine the systems that allow racism to thrive out in the open within our organizations.
You might be hearing the term “systemic racism” used widely online, in our personal and professional circles. But what does it mean and more importantly, what does it look like and how can we stop it?
Systemic racism (also referred to as institutional racism) is racism that’s present in social and political institutions. It impacts the whole, it’s system-wide and it leads to discrimination in criminal justice, housing, employment and more.
Implicit bias refers to unconscious associations and feelings (even when these go against our conscious beliefs) that impact our understanding, actions and decisions. (Like stereotypes.)
It’s more than likely you’re missing out on and passing over diverse and qualified candidates, because your practices are rooted in bias and racism. Without even realizing it, you’re perpetuating racism by allowing things to continue the way they’ve always been because that’s just the way they’ve always worked. But they aren’t working.
Which of these racist practices are prevalent in your hiring process?
Recruiters move forward with people who sound more “articulate.”
Why this is a problem: This perpetuates our own prejudice in hiring based on our evaluation of how people speak (e.g. whether they “sound black,” have an accent, etc.)
Artificial Intelligence systems screen candidates and use bias based on past hiring in their algorithms to recommend fewer resumes from People of Color.
Why this is a problem: Results in a lower candidate pool of People of Color and minorities.
All white hiring team looks for ‘culture fit’ and hires people they’re comfortable with.
Why this is a problem: We’re more comfortable with people who’re similar to ourselves, so this leads hiring teams to pass on qualified candidates who are different than us.
Pictures on a company website show all white or mainly white employees.
Why this is a problem: Lets People of Color and minorities know they aren’t welcome and may be less likely to apply. At the same time, you don’t want your company to look like a safe-space for POC, when it’s really not.
Develop hiring relationships with universities that senior managers graduated from.
Why this is a problem: Students are far more likely to be white, leading to fewer minority candidates in the hiring pool.
Use credit reports in candidate screenings.
Why this is a problem: Generates bias against lower income/less affluent candidates.
Use and give precedence to internal employee referrals.
Why this is a problem: More likely to receive referrals that are overwhelmingly white.
Reject resumes with “unique” names.
Why this is a problem: Generates bias against non-white/non-Western sounding names.
“I do not allow anything that will give the hiring manager an idea as to who that person is. I do that for two reasons: I’ve noticed a huge wage gap between men and women and I’ve had too many candidates with non-white-sounding names get passed up.” Leslie, Ask Your Recruiter
Reject candidates based on what you deem to be unprofessional appearance.
Why this is a problem: Centers whiteness and discriminates against non-white and non-Western professionalism standards (this can apply to dress code, speech, work style, and timeliness)
Design job requirements that demand higher education credentials or years of experience.
Why this is a problem: This discriminates against People of Color who face systemic barriers to obtaining such qualifications.
What can you do about it?
- Ensure recruitment and hiring committees are diverse.
- Use a standardized resume format and remove names, pronouns, and company names before forwarding to hiring managers.
- Expand your recruiting channels beyond your networks.
- Ensure qualifications truly match the necessary requirements to do the job.
- Create awareness of implicit bias and white supremacy culture.
- Do ongoing work with professionals (ideally POC) who specialize in white supremacy culture to create human resources policies and procedures.
Regardless if you’re a company of 1 or 1,000, it’s never too soon (or too late) to take a critical look at your hiring practices, identify and remedy practices that perpetuate racism and examine the role you play. And the hiring process is only the first step. When employees join your organization, do you provide a safe and inclusive environment for them to thrive? If not, retaining the employees you worked so hard to recruit, hire, and onboard, will be a bigger issue.
I urge you to start this work today. Imperfect action is better than none at all.
Special thanks to Leslie at https://askyourrecruiter.com/ for her review of this post and insights.
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