Bias-reduction strategies for HR professionals

Recruit, select, and support candidates and employees with disabilities.

Strategies:

1. Be aware of your own bias!

  • Example: It is not uncommon to assume – even without realizing it – that a job candidate with a visible impairment will require accommodation (without asking them directly).
  • Message: Bias is often unconscious; acknowledging its presence is the first step in reducing its influence.
  • Try this: Take the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) to identify some of your own biases (we all have them – it’s human!). Then, reflect on how bias may show up in hiring decisions or workplace interactions.

2. Use a structured process to make decisions.

  • Example: Assess fairly – Rate job candidates using a clear competency framework.
  • Message: Moving “fast and loose” allows bias to creep in.
  • Try this: Use structured interviews, and apply standardized evaluation criteria.

3. Counter and Replace stereotypes

  • Example: It is not uncommon to assume that a person with an impairment will be less productive.*
  • Message: Challenging stereotypes reduces the impact of bias.
  • How? Actively replace the assumption with a positive, fact-based counterexample.

*E.g., Think of employees with impairments who are productive in their roles).

4. Try Perspective-Taking (and individuation)

  • Example: Shadow an employee who uses adaptive technology to better understand their daily experiences.
  • Message: Seeing people as individuals rather than as part of a group reduces bias.
  • Try this: Engage in one-on-one conversations with employees or candidates with disabilities to understand their unique experiences and imagine their perspective.

5. Widen exposure (and foster inter-group contact)

  • Example: Hold “Disability Inclusion Dialogues” where employees share their experiences (to foster learning and allyship).
  • Message: Frequent, meaningful interactions with people from different backgrounds break down stereotypes.
  • Try this: Form employee resource groups (ERGs) and/or inclusive networking events (to facilitate diverse interactions).

6. Monitor and Address Bias at work

Example: An audit of hiring data shows that candidates who disclose a disability are less likely to advance to interviews.

Message: Bias isn’t just an individual issue—it’s systemic.

Try this:

  • Regularly assess recruitment, retention, and promotion data to identify patterns of bias.
  • Speak up when bias is observed.
  • Set clear ground rules for inclusive behaviour.
Outline of a person looking at a screen and holding a pen to their chin.