Removing “unconscious bias” in recruitment

The first and only black woman to hold a senior position in the advertising industry has spoken about ways to boost minority representation in the world’s biggest companies.

Karen Blackett, CEO of UK-based media-buying and planning agency MediaCom, became the first businesswoman to top the Black Powerlist last month. The list aims to champion the UK’s most influential people of African and Afro-Caribbean heritage.

Across all of the FTSE 100 boards, there are still only three people of African or Afro-Caribbean descent. The first of these did not join until 2004.

When asked about this strikingly low proportion, Blackett blamed the insular manner of board recruitment: "The informal way is about networks and it can be a bit of a club. Formally, it’s headhunters – they keep fishing in the same pond."

She also mentioned the "unconscious bias" that recruiters are likely to feel towards job candidates who are most like them.

To overcome these issues, Blackett suggested that businesses should adopt America’s Rooney Rule whereby all minority candidates are interviewed for jobs, commenting that: "It’s not about influencing outcomes but about making companies widen the net."

Conversely, Blackett opposed the notion of introducing gender quotas, which she feels would do "more harm than good" and place "a lot of pressure on the person who gets the role."

Nina Smith discusses the effects of gender quotas, asserting that there is little evidence that these alone can improve firm performance. She acknowledges that greater gender diversity on boards can improve decision-making processes, but that businesses also need to widen the pipeline of women progressing into senior management by investing in their skills and experience.

Meanwhile, Ulf Rinne has written about levelling the playing field in access to jobs, noting that anonymous job applications are gaining attention and interest. He discusses how these have the potential to reduce some hiring barriers facing minority applicants, but that they can’t prevent all forms of discrimination.

How do you think we can remove unconscious bias in recruitment? Let us know on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Related articles:
Gender quotas on boards of directors, by Nina Smith
Anonymous job applications and hiring discrimination, by Ulf Rinne