Case study: gaming for hiring managers

Technology is not perfect, but it does have the potential to improve outcomes and accelerate progress on the diversity and inclusion agenda. As you saw in the previous course, ‘Anti-racist approaches in technology’, it is vital to try to mitigate against biases that can be embedded into technological systems and processes. Recruitment processes can contain both human and computational biases, both of which are important to address (1).

Let’s look at an example of a company that took an innovative approach to tackling their diversity problem. With more than 70,000 employees in a largely male-dominated shipping and logistics industry, Maersk needed to tackle the diversity issue at scale (2). Partnering with Serious Games, they came up with a unique solution – an online game for staff with hiring responsibilities to learn new ways to eliminate bias (3). The game highlighted barriers to entry that might discourage applications from non-white and male applicants, including things like gendered language that was used when posting adverts. This example shows that technological interventions can help make workplaces more fair, equitable and diverse.

Have you come across any other technology-based solutions that can support diversity and inclusion in the recruitment process? What creative solutions would you develop if you knew you couldn’t fail to deliver them?

References:

1. Diversity@, 2021. AI-powered recruitment can be racist or sexist – and here’s why

2. Rachel Osikoya, 2020. Technology can be a great ally in the drive for greater inclusion and diversity

3. License to Recruit Serious Games Interactive.