WOMEN IN TECH THE FACTS

03
INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS:
How Do Biases Influence Recruitment?
CHAPTER SNAPSHOT: FOUR BARRIERS TO RECRUITMENT
> > Job Ads: Biased and exclusionary language.
> > The Recruiting Process: Hiring people like ourselves.
> > The Interview and Selection Context: Practices that trigger stereotype threat
and other biases.
> > The Physical Office Environment: Subtle cues about who belongs here.
Key Takeaways
> > Job ads often contain language and other subtle cues that discourage
women and other underrepresented candidates from applying.
> > Resume review and selection criteria often embed unconscious bias.
> > The technical interview context often triggers stereotype threat and can
prevent interview teams from recognizing highly qualified talent even
when it is right in front of them.
> > The physical environment can communicate who does and does not fit-in,
ultimately influencing candidates’ decisions about joining a company.
FOUR BARRIERS TO RECRUITMENT
This chapter focuses on how implicit bias plays out in institutional practices related to recruiting.
Often, these biases are difficult to recognize because they are embedded into the “normal” operations
of recruiting and appear to be “just the way it is.” When left unchecked, however, they cause hiring
managers and others to miss out on finding and hiring many highly qualified candidates.
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