When Blind Hiring Advances DEI — and When It Doesn’t

As a decision-making strategy, “blind hiring” involves blocking evaluators from receiving potentially biasing information about a job candidate until after an evaluation of their application materials are complete. Most famously, the tactic was used to boost the hiring of women in orchestras by having people audition from behind a screen that concealed their gender. But there’s a body of research that’s been conducted since that 2000 study showing that, while the strategy is generally effective, there are situations in which it might not help you diversify your candidate pool. The author outlines this research, and suggests three questions you should ask in order to get the most out of a blind hiring approach.