Tackling Unconscious Bias in Recruitment

This session looked at where unconscious bias enters the recruitment process and the practical steps that reduce it, from job adverts to interviews and pay. HRreview's James Marsh hosted Dr Janine Victor, Specialist Research Psychologist at Thomas International, and Rachel Woolf, People Director at Zzoomm.

Dr Janine Victor, Specialist Research Psychologist, Thomas International; Rachel Woolf, People Director, Zzoomm. Hosted by James Marsh, HRreview.

Key takeaways

Show people their bias through exercises rather than lecturing them

Victor recommends short puzzles and scenarios that expose how quickly the brain takes shortcuts, plus Harvard's free online implicit association tests. Woolf shows managers stereotypical pictures, asks what they would assume about that person at interview, and lets them draw their own conclusions. Woolf's view is that telling people what to think will not change attitudes.

Reduce recruiter overload, because pressure is when bias takes over

Victor named cognitive overload, stress, time pressure and juggling too many tasks as common triggers for biased snap judgements. At Zzoomm, Woolf spreads hiring across a large recruitment team, brings in managers from other regions to help when one area is busy, and repeats manager development sessions every quarter so nobody has to cram them in.

Write job adverts as short lists of behaviours, not traits

Victor cited research showing women are less likely to apply when requirements are written as traits, such as 'you are a natural leader', rather than behaviours, such as 'you have good leadership skills'. Free gendered-language checkers can help. Woolf reviewed every Zzoomm job description, removed wording that implied physical strength, and cut descriptions back to the essential skills, because long lists of 'musts' are where bias creeps in.

Structure every interview the same way and add a second-level sign-off

Victor advises one interview guide and scoring system for all candidates, with questions in a fixed order so answers can be compared, plus other evidence such as work samples, situational judgement tasks or assessment centres. Woolf builds the question sets with hiring managers, which reduced pushback. Zzoomm also runs a 'grandparent interview' with the manager's own manager, so a hiring manager tempted to recruit a clone knows the choice will be checked.

Remove the details that quietly disadvantage some candidates

Victor said research shows women are less likely to negotiate pay, so state the salary range and whether it is negotiable. Ask candidates for years of experience rather than dates, so career breaks do not dominate, and anonymise CVs. Woolf added that in fast-moving tech, returners need no more retraining than existing staff and often bring a fresh perspective.

Make the culture match the recruitment promise

Woolf warned that diverse hires will leave if the workplace does not live up to the process. Zzoomm runs equality training on every employee's first day, has a diversity group run below senior leadership level that brings issues to leaders, and shares stories of women in unexpected roles throughout the year, not only on International Women's Day.

22 Oct 2026 · Dr Janine Victor, Thomas International

Ask for behaviours, not traits, in job adverts

Women are less likely to apply when requirements are written as traits ('a natural leader') rather than behaviours ('good leadership skills').

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