Diversity & Inclusion: What role can Executive Search play? Diversity Inclusion Survey Report | Page 27
Findings show that diverse candidates may be negatively impacted by unconscious bias and by clients choosing the
‘safe’ option. Additionally, 45% of respondents felt that there was a lack of diverse candidates, although this may be
an issue of perception rather than fact.
Why clients choose the ‘safe’ option
A number of unconscious or implicit biases are known to affect recruitment decisions. For example, Affinity
Bias is the unconscious tendency to prefer people with whom we share traits or qualities. Confirmatory Bias can
then reinforce this bias as it refers to how people primarily search for bits of evidence that back up their existing
opinions, rather than looking at the whole picture. Status Quo Bias is an emotional preference for the current state
of affairs or status quo.
Put simply, most humans don’t like change.
Biases such as these and others can contribute to an unconscious preference for candidates who share traits with
the existing majority, leading to continued homogeneity.
“Clients ask for diverse shortlists, we provide
exceptional (female for example) candidates
and yet they go for the male candidate
because they are the safe option, and perhaps
have more experience at the top, so they
don’t become part of the wider picture of
bringing in a high potential, highly-skilled
candidate because they perceive risk.”
Survey Respondent
www.invenias.com | [email protected]
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