Meeting One

1.Prework - Before Meeting One 

General pre-work for all searches

*Why We Focus on Unconscious Bias? 

Undoubtedly everyone here has completed some sort of bias training in the past. Learning and reflecting about EDI is not “one and done” but a constant reflection of how our unconscious biases align with our conscious values. We will never remove all of our implicit biases, that isn’t the goal, the idea is to reflect and be aware of them so we can understand when a bias may be influencing a decision. 

You are asked to watch a short video (approximately 8 minutes) on implicit bias (linked below). 

*For Reflection

*What assumptions might you have about what a desirable candidate looks like  including their personality, identity, academic background, career trajectory, public profile, or other characteristics?

*Are these assumptions based on what is actually required to be successful in the role, or might they reflect previous candidates, conventional expectations, or other influences?

Thinking through the two questions above helps us identify our assumptions and biases and also will prepare the committee for a focused discussion on the skills and qualifications a preferred candidate must possess. 

*A Message about Discomfort 

Conversations about diversity and bias can make people feel uncomfortable.  I encourage you to allow yourself the space to spend time with the discomfort if this happens to you. 

As you reflect, be critical of your views but also remember to be compassionate with yourself.  The intent is to have a discussion during meeting one that is a brave space for everyone, with a Vegas rule of confidentiality to allow respect for what everyone brings. 

Specific to Department Chair Searches 

*For Reflection

The questions below will be worked through together as a committee during Meeting One. You do not need to prepare written responses; they are provided in advance to give you an opportunity to reflect on them before the discussion.

1. What will the next Chair need to accomplish to help advance the department’s priorities?

2. Which areas of the Chair Search & Review evaluation tool are particularly important given these priorities?

3. What qualifications, experiences, competencies or attributes will be important in a Chair who can help the department move in this direction?

4. Beyond traditional academic measures, what other experiences, contributions or indicators of leadership should be important for this particular Chair role?

5. Are there aspects of the department’s culture, history or context that are important for the committee to understand as we begin the search, including considerations related to bias, equity or representation?

During Meeting One, the committee will use these reflections to map the department’s priorities directly onto the Chair Search Evaluation Tool, identifying the criteria and areas of emphasis that are particularly important for this search. Those areas will then inform the job advertisement and recruitment approach and will be carried forward in the evaluation tool throughout the search.

2. Meeting One Discussion 

Putting Fairness into Practice

An important part of the process is making conversations about bias a normal part of the work of the search committee. Bias should not be discussed only at the beginning of the search; committee members should be encouraged to identify and question assumptions throughout the process.

The reflection questions above will be discussed together during Meeting One and used to inform the search process.

Goals:

• Agree on what matters for this search. Identify the qualifications, skills, experiences and attributes most important for success in the role. Consider whether conventional expectations about academic success or career trajectory are influencing what is considered desirable.

• Review the job advertisement. Does it accurately reflect what is required for the role and use inclusive language? Would candidates with nontraditional career trajectories see themselves as eligible and competitive?

• Consider recruitment reach. Where should the position be advertised or promoted to reach a broad range of qualified candidates?

• Review the evaluation tool together. Ensure the criteria align with the job description and what the committee has agreed is important for the search.

• Consider the assessment process. Could any components of the preliminary assessment reasonably be anonymized? For example, could written statements be reviewed before identifying information or CVs are considered?

• Establish how the committee will work together. In addition to confidentiality and conflict of interest, discuss how concerns about bias will be raised and how all members will have an opportunity to contribute, particularly on committees that include learners, patients, staff or others with different roles or levels of institutional authority.

For Department Chair Searches

In addition to the considerations above:

• Use the department’s priorities to focus the search. Work through the 3–5 priorities identified by the department and consider what the next Chair will need to accomplish to advance them.

• Map the priorities directly to the Chair Search Evaluation Tool. Identify which criteria are particularly important given the department’s priorities and what qualifications, experiences, competencies or attributes would enable the next Chair to advance them. The tool already includes alignment with Department priorities within its overarching assessment constructs.

• Identify areas of particular emphasis. Capture these directly in the working evaluation tool so that the department-specific priorities are visible within the existing Chair criteria.

• Use this thinking to shape recruitment. Consider what should be emphasized in the job advertisement and where to advertise or recruit to reach candidates who may bring the qualifications, experiences, competencies or attributes identified as particularly important.

• Carry the same framework forward. Return to the agreed areas of emphasis when shortlisting, interviewing and deliberating so that the priorities established before candidates were known remain visible throughout the search.

Additional Considerations and Resources

Inclusive job advertisements

Free tools such as Gender Decoder can help identify gendered language in job advertisements. AI tools can also be used to review advertisements for potentially exclusionary or unnecessarily restrictive language.

FoMD wellness commitment

Consider whether the posting should include the Faculty's wellness commitment:

"The FoMD has adopted the Okanagan Charter and is committed to health-promoting learning and working environments supporting safety and wellbeing."

Access, Community & Belonging (ACB) statements

Consider whether an ACB statement is appropriate for the search. ACB statements can ask candidates to describe prior contributions to reducing inequities, removing barriers to access, and cultivating belonging through teaching, research, mentorship, service or community engagement, including the impact of those activities.

*Closing Comments

Implicit bias operates outside conscious awareness and may not align with our stated beliefs or values. Bias is also malleable. The purpose of recognizing bias is not to assign guilt or blame, but to become better able to notice and question the assumptions that may influence our decisions.

Fairness in a search is not a single step or a checklist. It requires ongoing attention to how criteria are established, how candidates are recruited and assessed, and how decisions are made. By reflecting on our assumptions, engaging in dialogue, and returning to the criteria we agreed were important, we can support a fair and thoughtful search process.