Help job seekers with disabilities find and apply to jobs
AI tools can help job seekers with disabilities create more nuanced profiles that include their skills, knowledge, strengths, personality and other preferences. With more nuanced profiles, AI tools can better match diverse job seekers with employers and job opportunities, and assist them with completing job applications. AI features in such tools can offer different ways for job seekers to interact with the tool, such as via web-based chatbots or voice user interfaces. Employers can benefit by gaining access to more diverse and qualified job seekers.
Organizations should consider the Equitable AI Principles when procuring an AI job matching tool. Questions to ask include:
- Has the tool been developed and trained using inclusive datasets and algorithms to capture, analyze, and match diverse job seekers?
- Does the tool respect the privacy of diverse job seekersーincluding those with disabilitiesーwhile supporting self-disclosure?
- Was the AI tool designed and tested with people with disabilities?
Reduce bias in job descriptions and application processes
Non-inclusive job descriptions and other application materials can dissuade candidates from applying to jobs. AI-augmented writing tools can help recruitersーsupported by Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) staffーreview text in job position descriptions and other application materials and suggest more inclusive language. For example, an AI-augmented writing tool might identify ableist language (e.g., “kneel”, “speak”, “hear the telephone in a loud environment”, etc.) and recommend using more inclusive terms to describe essential functions of a job (e.g. “lower oneself”, “communicate”, “use the telephone”, etc.).
Organizations should consider the Equitable AI Principles when procuring and creating job application tools that leverage AI. Questions to ask include:
- Has the AI tool been designed to detect biased language and suggest inclusive language?
- Has the AI tool been designed to flag job requirements that might be non-essential, such as requiring a driver’s license for jobs that don’t involve driving?
- Has the AI tool been designed to help employers focus on goals, not methods, for accomplishing those goals (employees with disabilities are experienced in finding workarounds and new ways to perform job tasks)?
- Has the AI tool been designed to check for plain language, or communicating about an employer’s commitment to DEIA?
Screening candidates and predicting who will be a good hire
AI tools can save recruiters time by prescreening candidates, automatically analyzing resumes, conducting employment tests, and performing automated interviews using video or chatbots. Essentially, such tools can help recruiters make hiring decisions through predictive analytics of fit to desired employee characteristics.
Organizations should consider the Equitable AI Principles when procuring and implementing AI candidate screening tools. Questions to ask include:
- Has the AI tool been designed not to rely solely on popularity metrics that are unfair to underrepresented job seekers such as those who have disabilities?
- Does the AI tool rely on analysis of physiological data such as speech patterns, facial expressions, or perceived emotional intelligence?
- Does the AI tool infer or predict employability based on legacy data that fails to take into account diverse candidates including those with disabilities?
