Leveraging Tech-enabled DEI Solutions to Reduce Bias and Increase Screening Accuracy.

Many of the complex diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges that organizations face are systemic. While every employee is responsible for making progress on organizational DEI goals, individual interventions are not sufficient to drive large-scale, sustainable change. DEI technology solutions can help reimagine DEI practices and processes at the organizational level.

Key considerations

1. Understand the DEI technology landscape

Research and become familiarized with the current and emerging technologies including:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning – The use of models, data, and algorithms to help a computer learn new information and recognize patterns.  
• Text mining and Natural Language Processing – A program’s ability to understand human language as it is written and draw insights from that language.
• Sentiment Analysis – The analysis of subjective data to assess human emotion and sentiment.

2. Deploy technology in Talent Acquisition

Identify opportunities and vendors who provide capabilities that:

• Mitigate bias in job descriptions – Software can provide recommendations for more inclusive language and help recruiters de-bias job descriptions.
• Create blind resumes – Use technology that removes diversity-identifiable information from a candidate’s resume, such as names, educational institutions, email addresses, etc.
• Flag qualified candidates – Use software to analyze a candidate’s resume, identify key skills or capabilities, and then create a list of attractive candidates for each job opening.
• Minimize bias during the interview process – Consider the deployment of chatbot interviews, standardized interview question providers, and video technology that assesses the interviewer's speech and body language as possible indicators of bias.

3. Prevent technology solutions from worsening DEI disparities

When implementing a new DEI solution, it is critical to understand any negative impacts the technology may have on vulnerable populations or the organization. DEI practitioners should ask vendors to:

• Provide clarity on how their predictive solutions make decisions.
• Discuss how algorithms are audited or tested.
• Describe how/where information is stored.
• Explain the impetus for any planned updates to the tool.

And as always, measure for impact. Closely monitor internal HR data to identify any new patterns that emerge as the result of a DEI technology solution. Practitioners should specifically look for patterns that indicate a disparate impact on the workforce’s more vulnerable populations.

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