Your skin colour still impacts your career. Racial bias in hiring decisions. What can you do?
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In an ideal world, your racial profile would not have any bearing on whether or not you are selected for a job. It would be based on pure merit, skillset, experience and whether your personality would be a good team fit. However, we all know that racial bias remains very much a prevalent issue in this day and age, particularly during the hiring process. It beggars’ belief especially as we’ve evolved so much as a society, through education and the accessibility of information via the internet and social media.
Racial bias in hiring is an insidious form of discrimination that operates both subconsciously and consciously.
What is racial bias?
Racial bias refers to the attitudes and stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions regarding someone’s race. It can be subconscious or conscious.
In the workplace, this can manifest in various ways, from hiring practices to everyday interactions between colleagues. However, we’ll focus on the impact of racial bias in the hiring process.
Employers may either knowingly or unknowingly favour applicants who share the same racial background, or a specific type of background that they prefer.
Examples of racial bias during the hiring process
Starting at the beginning of the hiring process, covert or even obvious bias may be weaved into the job description. The language used in job descriptions can deter candidates from certain racial backgrounds. Certain terms and requirements may resonate more with some groups than others, influencing who applies.
Studies have shown that identical CVs/resumes with traditionally sounding Caucasian names have a higher interview selection rate than those with ethnic minority sounding names. This is even when the qualifications are identical or may be better than someone fitting the desired racial profile by the recruiter.
This results in the candidate’s suitability for a job based on their skillset and experience being completely overlooked.
If an applicant with a certain racial profile does make it through the recruitment process and through to the interview stage, there is no guarantee of the ethnic minority applicant from experiencing racial bias throughout the remainder of the process. It is possible that the employer may turn them down based on their lack of “cultural fit”.
The concept of “cultural fit” can be a cloak for racial bias, leading to a homogenous workforce. You may have seen instances where a team’s racial profile lacks diversity, despite being located in a geographic region that homes a varied diverse ethnic background. Employers may favour applicants who they feel will “fit in” with the company culture, which can be a completely subjective and biased assessment.
While the specifics can vary, racial bias in the workplace is not just an American or British issue—it’s a global one, affecting organizations in the Western world and beyond. It undermines the principle of equal opportunity and can harm both individuals and the organizations they work for.
“Racial bias is a pretty big issue. What can I do to make a difference”
Racial bias is a systemic issue and it’s practically hardwired into the hiring process. It’s not something that can be solved overnight, nor by one person. However, collectively tackling this issue can achieve greater awareness and education to those who subconsciously or unconsciously perpetrate this.
Employers have a fundamental role to play to address this head on. However, current employees of an organization can also make a difference. Here are some suggestions that you can action to help tackle racial bias in our workplaces. Note, these are not limited to those from an ethnic minority background:
– Requesting and encouraging staff training in racial diversity and its benefits.
– Openly talking about your background and embracing it.
– Encourage others to talk about their background and cultural practices.
– Championing when people from different ethnic backgrounds join your team, commenting how team diversity makes the team more successful.
– Making it clear and practicing meritocracy as much as possible if you have a manager role and above.
– Push for the standardization of the hiring process to minimize the impact of individual biases.
– Requesting that you be involved in your employer’s recruitment process, where possible and it is appropriate to do so.
– Advocate for diverse hiring panels that include multiple perspectives and backgrounds to reduce personal biases.
– Encourage the recognition of historical disadvantages and the importance of diversity when considering applicants of colour.
– Advocate for a review of current hiring policies and procedures to identify and question any systemic racism.
– Support the creation and enforcement of anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and anti-harassment policies.
– Participate in collecting and analyzing hiring data to recognize discriminatory patterns and work towards eliminating them.
– Engage in training to understand unconscious biases and how they can affect decision-making in hiring.
By actively participating in these initiatives, you, as an employee, can contribute to a more equitable and inclusive hiring environment. Collectively, we all can make a greater difference.