Dive Brief:
- Artificial intelligence tools are seeing increased adoption in the drive to end unconscious bias in recruiting, reports Fast Company. Many of the current AI products use keyword recognition or data masking to prevent bias in hiring.
- WayUp, a platform invented by 26-year-old CEO Liz Wessel, takes a new approach — being totally transparent about the demographics and traits of every candidate using a full dashboard that reveals the right information at the right time.
- Recruiters can see instantly which candidates are applying for their advertised positions to measure the success of diversity hiring. Currently, 73% of the WayUp user based consists of underrepresented minorities, and there are about 12,000 companies subscribed to the platform.
Dive Insight:
It can be difficult for any company to measure diversity in hiring. While there are spreadsheets and forms available to track applicants and hires, what happens during the advertising and interviewing phases are unclear.
This is the time when most bias takes place, and it's generally not something that can be monitored well. Unconscious recruitment bias is even more difficult to prevent because it involves a human behavior that comes from a variety of places.
A manager may have a specific type of person in mind for a job at the company, often tied to the person who has been in this role previously. This can influence which candidates make it through to the next interviewing phase if they do or don't meet these expectations. Taking a more transparent approach may be a way to give all candidates a fair and equal chance.
