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Will AI-based recruitment process lead to gender discrimination?
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Searching: Algorithms used for job recruitment are choosing men over more qualified women, especially if they have taken maternity leave, according to a University of Melbourne study. (Pexel/Pixabay) (Pexel/Pixabay)
Do artificial intelligence-assisted recruitments lead to gender-based bias?
Gender equality in the workplace is an issue that most countries still struggle with, including in Indonesia. The Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics’ 2019-2021 data on formal workforce percentage by gender show that men participate more in the formal workforce than women by an average of 7.75 percent.
In Indonesia, such biases are often explicitly displayed on job listings. Gender preferences that seem unrelated to the advertized job descriptions are a common sight.
In acknowledging these biases, some companies move toward adopting technologies for recruitment, in the hopes that, when hiring decisions are separated from human biases, decisions can be made more objectively. Advanced technology, however, does not mean gender biases have completely evaporated.
In Indonesia, a number of major companies, including those in the property and finance sector, already utilize the system.
Sheilla Njoto, who is currently pursuing her PhD in sociology and digital ethics at the University of Melbourne, found in her research the possibility of gender bias during the artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted recruitment process. Male resumes tend to receive more positive feedback, such as more downloads on their curriculum vitae and profile views from hirers, than females. Using the fake profiles “Jane” and “James”, each with identical experiences and qualifications, James received 36.8 percent positive feedback while Jane got none for management positions.
“Indonesia has yet to experience this level of recruitment technology, though we are moving towards that advancement in trajectory. Eventually, without proper mitigation, recruitment technologies could broaden the gap that already exists, especially in industries that are considered more ‘masculine’,” Sheilla shared. She further added that it is highly possible that AI intervention in recruitment could amplify the gender gap in certain roles.
