Accessibility Introduction

What makes a job interview non-inclusive?

A non-inclusive interview is when a candidate is unfairly disadvantaged due to their intersectional identity, background or circumstances.

How is intersectionality relevant to the art of inclusive interviewing? Sometimes when we think about inclusion, we naturally think about one aspect of someone's identity: race, ethnicity, gender or disability.

The reality is that candidates often face disadvantages (or unearned advantages) due to multiple aspects of their identity.

For example, a woman with autism and caring responsibilities face different barriers than a neurotypical woman without caring responsibilities.

Both may face barriers due to their gender.

So we cannot base the art of inclusive interviewing on one under-represented group; inclusive interviewing has to be a set of principles rather than a one size fits all approach.

Inclusive interviewing is not about accommodating those who might not "fit in".

If, as an interviewer, you find yourself worrying about a candidate not fitting in, the chances are that you have an over-representation of one type of person in your business or team. And that concern is actually your natural bias as a human to fear what is different.

Inclusive interviewing starts with recognising and acknowledging where a candidate's privilege gives them an unearned advantage for example, having the ability to attend an interview at any time of the day or a neurotypical brain that can easily process a conventional interview.