Questions to Ask at Each Stage of Hiring
- What would make this stage explicitly anti- (sexist, racist, ableist, ageist, elitist, classist)?
- Who belongs with me at this stage? Who ought to make decisions with me? (Diverse Hiring Team)
- Where are my biases and gaps? The team's? The organization's?
- Are my "must-haves" actually "nice-to-haves?" What is truly essential for this role?
- How are we using language to open or close doors to marginalized identities? What are new and different ways to use language?
- If every person involved in this process could see how I am running it, would I be proud of what they saw? Would they find shortcuts or cheats? Where?
Credit: Miranda-Wolff, Alida (2022). Cultures of Belonging: Building Inclusive Organizations That Last. HarperCollins.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Develop a Diverse Candidate Pool
Network/Partner with diverse organizations. For example, if hiring nurses, you might reach out to Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority, a professional organization for registered professional nurses and student nurses (male and female) representing many cultures and diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Invite diverse candidates to come to you. Intentionally seek out diverse candidates to apply for your job. Check out AAUW's article, 8 Great Job Boards for Diverse Professionals, and Vervoe's write-up on the Top 25 Diversity Job Boards for More Diverse Hiring.
Use a gender decoder like this one for your job ads to double-check any subtle gender stereotypes.
Write Inclusive Job Descriptions. Learn more here.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understand Your Implicit Bias Implicit or Unconscious Bias is a bias or prejudice that exists but is not consciously held or recognized based on a variety of factors, including age, race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, or ability.
Watch a Video: Stereotypical Hiring Practices: A Tedx talk by Gail Tolstoi-Miller.
Take the Implicit Association Test through Harvard University's Project Implicit to check your own unconscious biases.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Monitor and Hold Yourself Accountable
Hold viewing sessions using FSA's Fast Takes videos focused on various topics related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Use the included discussion guides to stimulate conversation and promote further thinking.
Access FSA's Diversity & Inclusion Resource Library.
If you are a leader of color, join the LeadingAge Leaders of Color Member Network.
