Microsoft is the first partner of the Work It OUT business platform. We asked them what good D&I practices they can mention and here is part of the answer: Consider blind hiring.
One solution to combating discrimination is through the practice of blind recruitment. In other words, the removal of ethnicity, gender, age and other attributes from job seekers during the application process. The idea is not new. A well-known example is the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1970, which was composed mainly of white men. In order to diversify, they began to hide the identities of the auditioned candidates behind screens. When the only criterion was talent, the result was a 30% increase in female musicians. Subsequent studies in other orchestras show an increase of this number to 46%.
The same goes for business today. Recent studies have found that skills-based ‘blind’ application processes increase by about 40% the chances of minority or female candidates being invited for a first-round job interview.
