Monday's Opening Thought: February 8, 2021

This week’s opening thought, for HR folx, recruiters, and hiring managers: If you’re interviewing candidates for any position in any organization, at some point in your interview process your interview questions must ask the candidate to share their personal understanding of anti-racism. You also need to ask questions to get an understanding of their personal work around dismantling their connections to white supremacy, as well as their views on being a part of an equitable and inclusive workplace that is a safer and braver space for more than just white cishet staff. And if your white applicants or non-white applicants with privilege give answers to these questions that are toxic or show an unwillingness to unpack their white supremacy?

They do not deserve to move on to the next round of your recruitment, qualifications be damned.

There’s enough racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, ableist white people and non-white people with privilege who harm others daily in our workplaces. We don’t need to hire any more. None of us do. We all need to normalize making being a hateful uncaring person an automatic exclusion from being in the running for a job. Qualified or not, skills do not trump hate, intolerance, and a lack of interest in being a better person. Recruit and hire like you actually want decent people to work for you.

Oh - and while I have your attention, take some time real soon to address the fact that those who can do something about it haven’t done anything about the racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, ableist white people and non-white people with privilege who harm others daily in our workplaces. Get on that.