Purpose

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are outlined in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Vision 2025 as core values (“we proceed”):

Well-being: Committing to caring for the physical and mental health of each other and the communities we serve.
Excellence: Striving for results in research, education & clinical care for the greatest impact.
Professionalism: Approaching all aspects of research, education & clinical care with integrity, respect and social accountability.
Curiosity and Creativity: Encouraging a culture of discovery and innovation.
Engagement for Collaboration: Seeking and integrating meaningful input from each other and our partners in communities.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Investing in an inclusive environment that recognizes and respects the dignity and humanity of individuals and communities.

In order to create an inclusive, diverse FoMD where everyone can thrive and feel as they belong, we need to be mindful of how we make decisions when we add new people to the team. 

The search committee training we are piloting will have 4 parts to correspond with each meeting.

1. How bias can interfere with the search process

2. Strategies to help us hold our biases to account 

3. How we can use cognitive empathy to frame interviews

4. Attention to confirmation and affinity bias during decisions 

This guide provides concrete training, tools and questions to ask during each stage of a search. The  goal is to eliminate bias in FoMD hiring by highlighting areas during the search where bias may infiltrate. According to Kang and Kaplan (2019) “clearly outlining the goal [of eliminating bias] within search committees” (p. 582) is an important step in ensuring equity in recruitment practices in that it concretizes abstract ideals.

How to use this guide

The pre-work and discussion guide are presented on a separate page for each meeting. Each pre-work is about 15-30 minutes of reading or watching videos. The EDI moment in the meeting is intended to generate discussion that applies the pre-work learning to the work of the committee. There are 4 EDI moments, one for each stage of the search:

1. Meeting 1 is the preliminary meeting where the committee reviews the job description and general information about the search. The evaluation checklist should also be discussed and adapted to reflect the job description. 

2. Meeting 2 is to short-list candidates for an interview. 

3. The next EDI pre-work is just prior to candidate interviews

4. Meeting 3 is the decision meeting. 

We would like to continually expand and adapt this resource so please reach out to fomdedi@ualberta.ca with any feedback or suggestions.

Creating the Search Committee 

Thought should be given to ensure the committee reflects inclusive and diverse (across multiple dimensions of diversity) representation, with consideration to improving under-representation and equity needs but also reflective of the unit. Committee members can contribute perspectives through knowledge, content expertise, positions and / or experience. 

The committee should have a Fairness Assurance Representative, someone to help guide the committee and oversee the bias mitigation process. 

After a draft of the membership is created if there are gaps and not all groups are represented what other ways could the committee ensure those perspectives are considered? Care must be taken to follow accessible and inclusive practices around scheduling meetings and communication. Committee members must be given adequate time to meaningfully prepare for their role. 

Types of Bias

**Affinity Bias. Having a preference or personal connection for an individual who may be similar to you. Perceiving people who are similar more positively than those who are different.

**Confirmation Bias. Looking for information that confirms your assumption about someone. Involves selective attention to information that supports your stance or belief. Dismissing opinions, no matter how valid. Confirms pre-existing perceptions or stereotypes without using actual or objective information.

**Halo Effect. Where a positive impression based on one aspect of performance  creates an overall positive perception. An individual is rated highly in all areas because of one thing they do really well.

**Horn Effect. An individual is denied progression because of one thing they do not do well. One negative trait overshadows other traits, behaviors, or beliefs.

**Spillover Effect. Pertains to a manager or evaluator judging the current performance by using past performance as a reference point.

**Projection. A feature in human thinking where one thinks that others have the same priorities, attitudes or beliefs as oneself, even if this is unlikely to be the case.

**Recency Effect When the individual’s most recent behavior becomes the primary focus of the review. Note this can go both ways. A poor performer does something terrific and the past performance is forgotten and vice versa with an exceptional performer.

**Anchoring Bias. The tendency to rely too heavily or “anchor” on one trait or piece of information when making decisions. Usually the first piece of information.

**Distance Bias. Favoring those who are closer in proximity by location, time zone or relationship. 

**Gender Bias. Stereotypes about gender roles can influence how one perceives an employee’s communication style, leadership skills, or work ethic.

**Attribution. How individuals perceive, assess, and rationalize their own actions, accomplishments, behaviors, and motivations against those of others. Leads to a tendency to focus on the faults of others and minimize or undervalue their accomplishments. 

Quick Tips for Managing Bias in a Committee

**Attend to power differences among members and establish good working processes so everyone in group can participate fully and freely

**Be careful in discussions of “fit” and in reviewing letters of support as these are places where bias often appears 

**Set ground rules for the search committee about processes and behaviours to support equity 

 **Focus on evaluating candidates against the objective, job-related criteria, set at the start of the search  

**Use the criteria as touchstones for discussion, rather than using personal opinion to drive discussion. 

**Take time in processes and don’t jump to decisions 

**Compare assessments across candidates to ensure you are weighting similar accomplishments in a similar manner 

**Provide comparable treatment to all candidates: ask same questions, question materials in same way, provide them with the same information  

Reference Documents

* FoMD Guidelines for an Advisory Selection Committee

* FoMD Growing Wisely

* Equity, Diversity & inclusion Best Practices in Faculty Recruitment & Hiring 

* Improving Equity  in Academic Recruitment

*  Steps for Recruitment

* Russell, J. A., et al. “Recognizing the Impact of Bias in Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement Processes.” Kinesiology Review, vol. 8, no. 4, Jan. 2019, pp. 291-295–295. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1123/kr.2019-0043