Some Myths about Equitable Recruitment and Selection

There are a number of myths about equitable recruitment and selection. For each of the following myths, review the reality section to learn more.

Myth #1

Equity compromises the excellence of the hiring process.

Reality:

Applying an equity lens during the hiring process does not mean choosing an unqualified candidate. Instead, it’s about acknowledging that systemic biases and barriers exist and reading the candidate’s record through that lens. It means, acknowledging that metrics like citation counts and reference letters, are inherently biased and disadvantage equity-deserving groups. Applying an equity lens to consider these biases and barriers allows one to consider a candidate’s record in context; it’s not about choosing an unqualified candidate for the position.

Myth #2

Equity means designating a position for a member of an equity-deserving group.

Reality:

Not always. In some processes, a position is designated for a member of an equity-deserving group but this is not always the case.

More commonly, applying an equity lens means evaluating the biases and barriers that exist in the hiring process and evaluating candidates with those biases and barriers in mind.

While there are cluster hires that designate positions for a specific equity-deserving groups (e.g., Indigenous peoples), these are the exception, not the norm. The vast majority of hires are not cluster hires.

A cluster hire is specifically designated as such under the Special Programs provision of the Ontario Human Rights Code and is advertised specifically for a designated group. This practice recognizes where there has been significant underrepresentation of a certain group. A candidate hired through such a process is also no less excellent. They are highly qualified, exceptional candidates who have been hired through a process that recognizes the biases and barriers that have prevented equitable representation

Equity means applying an equity lens to every hire, regardless of whether it’s a cluster hire to ensure fairness.

Myth #3

Equitable recruitment means the candidate’s identity is the only attribute that’s considered

Reality

Equitable recruitment means looking at your recruitment and selection process as a whole and evaluating how it might disadvantage candidates from equity-deserving groups. A hiring process that has evaluated biases and barriers well, levels the playing field for all candidates and enables the Committee to feel confident that the candidate selected is the best candidate for the position. When biases and barriers are removed from the hiring process, it is likely that a strong candidate will be selected that might have been overlooked. Equity in hiring may also mean that, when faced with two relatively equal candidates in qualification and experience, you choose the candidate who has identified from a group underrepresented in the department

Myth #4

A candidate should be excluded when “red flags” arise during the hiring process.

Reality:

Consider whether your assessment of a “red flag” is informed by bias. A candidate with non-traditional experience, or career leaves at past employment is not immediately suspect. There are many reasons why equity-deserving candidates may have career leaves including discriminatory or oppressive treatment at past employers or parental/medical leaves that are disproportionately experienced by members of equity-deserving groups. A candidate with a disability who has taken medical leaves, for example, is no less excellent because they have been required to take leaves, which they are legally entitled to under various provincial laws.

Myth #5

“I am not sexist/racist/homophobic/transphobic. I cannot be biased.”

Reality:

Everyone has biases. An unconscious bias can be as simple as seeing an older person with a child and unconsciously thinking that’s a grandparent and their grandchild. That mistake probably doesn’t have dramatic consequences in that moment, but unconscious biases do have significant consequences in the hiring process. The best way to mitigate unconscious bias is to acknowledge that you have biases and do the work to mitigate them. Recognize that unlearning unconscious biases and the norms that shape our ways of thinking is a lifelong process; we will never be done addressing our unconscious biases. We can only do the work to render it conscious in the situations it manifests most.

Be open to others asking you to think of something from a different perspective, be open when someone suggests your thinking might be susceptible to bias, identify and be aware of your biases, actively learn about groups with lived experience different from your own, and expand your knowledge about the various biases that manifest in the hiring process (especially the ones discussed later in this online resource).