Blind Spot: Heighten Bias Awareness and Center DEI in your Hiring Kara Morrissey, TWC Board Chair Alysia Lee, Equity Strategist
Blind Spot: Heighten Bias Awareness and
Center DEI in your Hiring
Kara Morrissey, TWC Board Chair Alysia Lee, Equity Strategist
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
-James Baldwin
Creative Meeting Guidelines
● Celebrate being in the space with other creative people.
● Like you, everyone in the room has experience and history.
● Assume good intent, but recognize that impact matters.
● Listen. Be open to new thinking from yourself and others.
● Two things can be true.
● Be a change agent. Lean into discomfort.
● Perfection is not real.
WARM-UP:‘Story Time
Jot down any thoughts!
Story Time
“A father and son were involved in a car accident in which the father
was killed and the son was seriously injured. The father was pronounced
dead at the scene of the accident and his body was taken to a local
morgue. The son was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and was
immediately wheeled into an emergency operating room. A surgeon
was called. Upon arrival and seeing the patient, the attending surgeon
exclaimed “Oh my God, it’s my son!’ Can you explain this?”
DEI
the guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups.
Equity & Justice:
OperationalizeEquity & Justice in Your Organization
Traditional HiringTwo Steps:
1. Recruitment2. Hiring
Updated Hiring
Interview & Selection05● Create a diverse resume review /interview panel.● Incorporate debrief sessions after each interview.● Hire the best candidate, not the candidate with the
best scores.
Interview Questions04● Prepare tangible benchmarks for interview
questions. ● Include question/s regarding equity and social
justice
Recruitment03● Engage a wide variety of diverse stakeholder
groups. ● Post the position internally/externally to minimize
unintended consequences and disproportionate impacts.
Position Description02● Evaluating position requirements {educational,
experiences, and physical requirements)● Mitigate any unintended consequences or
disproportionate impacts● Update Position Description.
Organization Knowledge01● Analyzing industry and organization data● Building intentionally diverse relationships● Impact and visionary expectations for the position
01.Organization Knowledge
Organization Knowledge01
● Analyzing industry and organization data
● Building intentionally diverse relationships
● Impact and visionary expectations for the position
02. Position Description
Position Description02● Evaluating position requirements {educational,
experiences, and physical requirements)● Mitigate any unintended consequences or
disproportionate impacts● Update Position Description.
03. Recruitment
Recruitment03● Engage a wide variety of diverse stakeholder
groups. ● Post the position internally/externally to minimize
unintended consequences and disproportionate impacts.
04. Interview Questions
Interview Questions04● Prepare tangible benchmarks for interview
questions● Include question/s regarding equity and social
justice
05. Interview & Selection
Interview & Selection05 ● Use the FOUR POINT SYSTEM
4-Point SystemFor Interviewing
PrepareUpdated Hiring Practices + diverse panel
BeforeBriefing panelists on organization priorities
DuringAsking questions with equity in mind
AfterDebriefing to clarify priorities
Take a minute right now to think about what in your organization needs more analysis and
what is a first step you can take.