{"id":5140,"date":"2014-07-10T08:46:49","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T15:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=5140"},"modified":"2023-05-15T10:39:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T17:39:37","slug":"down-the-recruitment-rabbit-hole-why-stereotyping-is-bad-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/down-the-recruitment-rabbit-hole-why-stereotyping-is-bad-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Down the Recruitment Rabbit Hole: Why Stereotyping Is Bad for Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was recently invited by a company experiencing very high staff turnover to discuss how I may be able to assist with their recruitment challenges. \u00a0\u00a0Having been around the traps as a Consultant of some repute for more years than I care to mention, the first question I asked was \u201cWhat seems to be the biggest problem?\u201d \u00a0Their response: \u201cGetting decent candidates \u2013 there are none around\u201d. \u00a0I haven\u2019t got enough fingers and toes to count how many times I have heard this in my career as an organisational consultant and professional recruiter.<\/p>\n

My next question, \u201cHow do you approach your recruitment at the moment?\u201d was answered with \u201cWell, the first thing we do is sort the resumes into two piles \u2013 boys and girls\u201d, justified with \u201cwomen are too unreliable, not focussed enough and can\u2019t put in the hours because they have the big man and the little man at home\u201d. \u00a0As if this wasn\u2019t bad enough, the spokesperson then went on to explain that they further cull the \u201cboy\u2019s pile\u201d because there were certain cultural backgrounds that \u201cjust don\u2019t work in our business\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sitting at the boardroom table, I kept thinking I was in some parallel universe, stuck in the middle of a Salvador Dali painting, serving tea to the Queen of Hearts down Alice\u2019s rabbit hole or something equally as discombobulating. \u00a0This was Sydney, a vibrant, culturally diverse international city. \u00a0It was 2014. \u00a0The client was under 45 years of age. \u00a0What on earth was going on? \u00a0Have we not progressed at all? \u00a0I could feel my breath shortening and my chest tightening and the \u201cfight or flight\u201d part of my brain was screaming \u201cFight! Fight!\u201d<\/p>\n

At no point had the skills and experience required for the role been given as criteria for shortlisting applications. \u00a0I\u2019m sure these critical factors would come into play once the interview process was underway but how could this organisation be sure they were interviewing the most suitable candidates when they had unilaterally discounted almost two-thirds of the applications on spurious grounds!<\/p>\n

Unfortunately we see stereotyping at play every day in the decision-making of Hiring Managers across corporate Australia and despite concerted efforts to educate and legislate, the myths prevail.<\/p>\n

The big three are Sexism, Racism and Ageism.<\/p>\n

Sexism \u2013 stereotyping based on Gender<\/h2>\n

Unbelievably, after years of fighting for equal recognition for women, and legislation designed to prevent it, this is still an issue in 2014. \u00a0\u00a0Despite extensive research proving otherwise, women are still seen as more costly to employ, less reliable and less ambitious than men, and not as primed for success. \u00a0These incorrect assumptions, or negative stereotypes influence us without us even realising \u2013 we are so accustomed to a male dominated culture that we become unaware of our blindspots where it comes to gender stereotyping in our hiring decisions.<\/p>\n

The facts speak for themselves:<\/p>\n