AI can identify age discrimination in recruiting

Artificial intelligence has been credited with eliminating biases that undermine diversity, equity and inclusion in talent acquisition. With concern over racial injustice since George Floyd’s death in police custody driving DEI to new heights, it’s easy to miss the scourge of ageism.

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that an inability of nearly three-fourths of workers age 65 and older to telecommute during the pandemic placed them at a higher risk for developing severe illnesses from COVID-19. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that long-term unemployment for working Americans 55 and older spiked to 26.4% from 14% last September vs. an increase to 18.2% from 11.3% outside that category.

Read more: Yet another hurdle for women at work: Their age

Experts note that so-called conversational AI can help ensure the safety of older talent as employees return to workplaces without ageism creeping into the equation post-pandemic. It bases talent-sourcing decisions solely on skills, attributes and performance indicators, not physical characteristics. As a result, the playing field can be leveled for millions of older workers whose depth of experience and talent is often overlooked by recruiters.

“Ageism is quite honestly one of the hardest biases to beat, partly because HR technology advancements have been more centered on racism and sexism,” observes Hari Kolam, CEO of Findem. “It’s ironic, since ageism is so prevalent and has such resounding effects on those searching for a job and the diversity of the workforce overall.”

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AI offers a fair, fast and simple application process, says Josh Secrest, VP of marketing and client advocacy at Paradox who employed the technology in his previous job as head of global TA at McDonald’s. Moreover, he says it ensures that the application candidates are filling out goes toward jobs for which they will have the highest rate of success.

“We’re seeing some of those algorithms come in through platforms like LinkedIn, but also some really great technologies that are helping job seekers on career sites, as well as even once they’ve hit ‘apply’ to get matched to the right jobs — even if they didn’t apply to the right one,” he adds.

Deep analytics can be used to determine whether certain job descriptions are boxing out older candidates starting at the top of the hiring funnel where bias is often introduced and make necessary adjustments, according to Kolam. “If your listing is searching for candidates who are ‘energetic’ and ‘on a fast-growth career path’ versus ‘seasoned’ or ‘experienced,’ it could inadvertently be biased toward a younger set of applicants,” he says.

Indeed, during an in-person interview, assumptions may creep in about an older person’s ability to understand the latest technologies and handle a fast-pace work environment or manual labor, notes Dawn Baron, senior strategic marketing manager at PeopleFluent. But she says conversational AI assesses the speed, level of detail and grammatically correct nature of candidate responses, without regard to appearance or the sound of their voice, based on skill and achievement.

Above all, a more strategic approach to TA lies on the horizon. “As an HR practitioner, the goal is to build extraordinary teams,” Secrest notes. “And what I’m excited about with AI is the ability to do some assessing on the chemistry and diversity of a team and how that makes them perform that much better.”