These days there is no place for bias in the workplace, especially when it comes to hiring. Small and large companies are beginning to take necessary steps to eradicate past unfair practices because after all the main objective of the HR department is to hire the best qualified candidate for the position.

Despite all the checks and bounds biases still exist when it comes to hiring in some of the Canadian organization, even though it is predicted that in the coming years, 33 percent of the new positions will have to be filled by immigrants due to low birth rates and baby boomers beginning to retire.

Here are some examples that should be avoided:

  1. Eliminating candidates based on their names. Many reputable studies have demonstrated that applicants with Chinese and East Indian names have close to 39 per cent less chance of getting a call for a job interview comparing to Anglo-Saxon names. To avoid this HR personnel should cover the names on the resumes prior to screening and deciding who gets called in for an interview.
  2. In the interview avoid such remarks as “you speak English very well”. This indicates that you have already decided that this person does not speak English well and may not be qualified for the position.
  3. Certain standardized tests that have not been approved and validated. At times such tests often disproportionately eliminate new immigrants whose English may not be their native language. Standardized tests are perfectly okay as long as they take into consideration the abilities important to performing a task.
  4. A person with a foreign accent automatically does not mean that a person is not being qualified for the job. Accents are okay as long as the person is able to communicate effectively.