Question

How does gender and ethnicity play a role in hiring decisions?

Answer 1

Selection bias can be considered as the process where the decision making process with regards to the selection of the best possible process and/or material or even candidates is hindered due to the presence of preconceived notions or prejudices an individual has which is based upon factors such as stereotypes, physical appearance etc. and does not take into account rationality or positive study of differences.

Selection bias is a problem that is prevalent in a number of different industries, from staffing process to supplier selection for a value chain of a company, the selection bias process has its implications over all forms of decision making which involve experience or decision making based on the likelihood of success.

Stereotypical hiring processes are of the type which can affect a hiring process based on the factors which can be considered as stereotypes which carry an inherent bias in the subconscious thinking of the manager conducting the hiring process. A stereotypical hiring process can be both positive and negative in its assumptions and conduction and stems from bias where the individual’s skills are perceived on the basis of their ethnicity, race, cultural beliefs, gender, age as well as geographical origin. For example, let's say a customer business process center, that needs to tend to the calls from customers of an American company would not generally hire an Asian to do the job due to their belief that an Asian would have an accent while speaking English, even when the individual, who is of an Asian background was born and raised in America and therefore, can speak the language fluently and without any accent.