Re-evaluate your definition of “qualified”

As a DEIB consultant, I have been asked, “So do I hire the diverse candidate (btw, “diverse” is not an identity) or the more qualified candidate?” Wow. That question just oozes with bias. And I’ve heard it on more than one occasion! What I hear in that inquiry is an assumption that individuals from historically excluded groups are by default not on par with their white counterparts.

Several things about that assumption are problematic but I’ll keep this challenge brief. For one thing, choosing to initiate diversity recruiting does not mean you are lowering your standards or that people from marginalized groups are inherently inferior in some way. There may not be an apples to apples comparison when evaluating resumes side by side but that’s likely BECAUSE OF THE PRACTICES THAT MAKE DIVERSITY RECRUITING NECESSARY IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Be willing to look beyond the standard degrees, the standard academic institutions, and the standard work histories and really think about the critical skills that are necessary to execute the job. Ask yourself why you feel so attached to “the way we’ve always done things” and why you feel so challenged by re-evaluating qualifications. And consider the game-changing skills people with lived experience have to build just to survive in corporate environments. I spell some of them out here in ‘The Lived Experience Quotient: The Most Overlooked and Undervalued Set of Strengths.’