Preventing gender and racial discrimination during the hiring process edit

While the use of technology has levelled access in many areas, hiring stats at tech companies tell a different story. Only 10% of tech jobs at Twitter and 17% of jobs at Microsoft were held by women or under-represented minorities in 2015. Studies have shown that two identical resumes with only a name difference between ‘Joe’ and ‘Jose’ can yield a 100% difference in the response rate.

Blendoor – a race, age and gender-blind app that matches employers with job applicants based on education and skills. The app has a Tinder-like format, where users upload their work and education history as well as job preferences, and both recruiters and job seekers swipe left and right until there’s a match. Names are hidden, so recruiters can’t be prejudiced – even subconsciously – by the user’s ethnicity or gender. Once a candidate and recruiter indicate mutual interest, they schedule a phone screening.

So far, more than 5,000 people have signed up, and the platform is being used by recruiters at Twitter, Airbnb, Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Intel.