Ways To Eliminate Unfair Hiring Practices

     For years unfair hiring practices have been implemented, and by now I'm sure that any decent human would agree that these should have been put to an end a VERY long time ago. Not only does it still happen quite often, it is not spoken about enough. If people were more aware of the situation, it would be much easier to squash. Not only are some people who are looking to be hired unaware of the situation, there are some employers who have no idea that what they are doing is discriminatory. There are so many easy ways for employers to ensure that they are hiring based on qualifications alone and not someones race. Each of these things would benefit not only the potential employees, but it would also benefit the employers. 

    While I may not have personally been discriminated against I have seen the damage it has. My cousins dream was to be a part of the fire department. He studied for the tests and worked hard to get where he wanted to be. When the time came he found out that his hard work paid off and he was on the top of the list for the next group of people to be hired. Things seemed to be going his way until they hired a person much less qualified for the job over him, all because of the color of his skin. Before seeing this up close I never realized how much of a problem this was. I was unaware of how often this happens and I started to pay more attention. 

    According to the article "Employment Discrimination" written on Legal Information Institute, "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in many more aspects of the employment relationship... prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Sex includes pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. It makes it illegal for employers to discriminate in relation to hiring, discharging, compensating, or providing the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment." So rules have been put in place for a while now trying to end unfair hiring, so why is it still so common? There are so many things that employers can do to ensure that they do not keep making these mistakes. These are some of the techniques that I think would be the most effective. 

    The first of many steps that employers should be taking to ensure that they are not discriminating in their hiring process is by starting off with blind hiring practices. According to "9 Ways to Ensure Fair Hiring Practices At Your Organization" it says that, "

Blind hiring reduces bias by allowing interviewers and those responsible for making hiring decisions to put aside any preconceptions and keep their minds open to all hiring possibilities." By looking only at a persons qualifications, it removed any other information about the person like their name, age, race, or anything about their appearance. The only thing you can judge the person on is their skills and the rest comes further into the hiring process.

    Implementing blind hiring practices would be a great way to start the process of eliminating unfair hiring practices. Not only are they used to discriminate against race, they are also used because of age, gender, religion and sexuality amongst other things. Blind hiring practices removes all of that so the only thing an employer has to go by is wether or not the persons skill set would suit the position they are trying to fill.

    Another thing employers should be doing is by giving interviewers certain questions to ask. Give them a script and have them stick to it. Ask the same questions to everyone that comes to the interview. Asking only questions that are relevant to the job will keep any other outside influences from having an impact on the outcome of the interview.  

    One final thing I feel employers should be doing to avoid unfair hiring practices is having a diverse hiring panel. Having people from all different types of backgrounds and life experiences deciding if a person is a good fit for a job. By having a diverse group of people making that decision, it eliminates unconscious bias amongst the group. Studies have also shown that at companies where this technique was used, diversity in their employees went up by over 40%. 

     Each of these techniques are not in favor of any one group of people and thats why every company should use them. Not only do they ensure that everyone has an equal chance of getting a certain job if they are qualified for it, it also ensures that employers get the best possible person for that position. There have been countless times when someone was discriminated against where they would have made the perfect fit for the position, if only they had been given a fair chance. Unfortunately people are yet to realize that by using unfair hiring practices, they are not only hurting the potential employees that they turn away for no good reason, they are also hurting themselves by losing a person that could have been a great asset to their business.