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.
