Re:We built voice modulation to mask gender in technical int...
by onion2k on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @04:05PM
(#12004392)
For some companies who believe an equal workplace should be 50% of each gender then you're right, but that doesn't make the system pointless. The idea of a "gender bias-free" hiring process isn't necessarily to make workplaces more equal or to promote diversity. The point is simply to remove a bias - to eliminate something that pushes you to hire someone who isn't the best candidate. Having a bias drives you to make an irrational decision. If a hiring manager has a strong bias in favour of believing "men are better coders" then you could miss out on some great hires. Removing that bias can only make your process better.
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Re:We built voice modulation to mask gender in technical int...
by killface on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @05:11PM
(#12004853)
But implicit in that "gender bias-free" hiring is the assumption that current hiring is gender biased to the point of needing technical solutions that simply remove the human element.
If you have a manager who thinks women can't code, and you institute a blind hiring process, you're just going to put that newly-hired woman under a manager who thinks women can't code? What then?
It really feels like the end solution to this is going to be "(white) men are not allowed to be hiring managers because they can't be trusted to follow our agenda"
Re:We built voice modulation to mask gender in technical int...
by etjossem on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @06:07PM
(#12005169)
> you're just going to put that newly-hired woman under a manager who thinks women can't code
Yes. The problem is that the manager thinks women can't code, and the best way to solve that is to prove him wrong.
Re:We built voice modulation to mask gender in technical int...
by playerqq on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @04:57PM
(#12004757)
But let's say our "gender-bias free" method leads a manager to hire 7 men and 3 women. This leads the manager to draw the conclusion that "My next hire is more likely to be a male than a female". The manager wants to acquire a good candidate pool as quickly as possible, so now he changes his mental search heuristic to favor male applicants, if he can discern their gender.
Haven't we just reinforced his bias further, now cemented by hard fact (and faulty reasoning)?
edit: missed a word