LinkedIn’s new feature is tackling discrimination in recruiting

There’s an ugly truth to the hiring landscape that job applicants are struggling against. And it’s that their name and their photo can cost them a job before their cover letter has even been read.

Over three-fourths of job seekers on LinkedIn expect to find diversity, equity and inclusion information on a company’s LinkedIn Page, according to the online job seeking platform. However, unconscious bias continues to pose a very real threat to fair and equitable recruiting — an issue they’re hoping to tackle with their blind resume offering, which includes a new “hide your face and photo” feature for recruiters.

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When the feature is turned on by recruiters, an avatar will replace the candidate’s photo and four randomly generated letters will replace their name, according to Monica Lewis, Senior Director of Product at LinkedIn. That way, recruiters are prompted to evaluate candidates based on their qualifications and skills, not their perceived social identity of appearance.

Despite an uptick in company-wide DEI initiatives across the board, recruiting discrimination is still rampant. A recent study by economists at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago found that on average, applications from candidates with a perceived “Black name” got fewer callbacks compared to similar applications from candidates with a perceived “white name.”

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In order to even the playing field, when a recruiter turns on the hide your face and photo feature it applies to all applicants, Lewis says.

“We believe that ‘hide names and photos’ has the opportunity to make a significant difference when it comes to hiring,” Lewis says. “Encourage companies to put in place this feature to mitigate any unconscious bias during the sourcing process.”