DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Checklist
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Directions: Use this checklist to identify gaps at your organization and inform action for
DEI through organizational policies and practices. It is not exhaustive and plans should
be customized by each organization.
Level 1 – Institutional: Robust list of policies
The policies are categorized in the following domains: Recruitment, promotion and employee
evaluations, pay, sexual harassment, exible work and care.
Recruitment & Hiring: Recruitment procedures can be built to be blind, and therefore
help to attract and hire the best candidates – regardless of the identity/ies they associate
with. Policies and actions
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to take include:
Remove bias from job descriptions. Wording in job descriptions can impact
whether more females or males apply (i.e. research shows that “masculine” adjectives
like “superior,” “competitive,” and “determined,” result in less female applicants).
All qualications should directly tie to duties performed on the job.
Expand your sourcing networks. Look at diversity-oriented job groups, partner
with diversity organizations and connect with diversity-oriented groups at
universities. Also, develop outreach programs with educational institutions beyond
elite universities and ensure more equitable focus on under-represented groups.
Job advertisements can be shared with these contacts.
Conduct blind resume screening. Gender and ethnicity of names are known
to have an impact on resume screening. Removing names can enable reviewers to
avoid potential bias.
Dene objective hiring criteria. Get hiring teams on the same page ahead
of time to prevent unspoken or subjective criteria from appearing late in the
evaluation stages.
Create diverse interview teams (e.g., sought after skills). Structure interview
teams based on who can evaluate candidates objectively and who would make the
candidate feel comfortable. Be aware of afnity bias – which is the preference for
people “like me”. Consider having interviewers do mock interviews with existing
employees to improve their own skills.
For technical applicants, consider blind code reviews (as opposed to
“whiteboard interviews”, which can create extra stressors for people from
underrepresented groups). In blind code reviews (modeled on blind auditions
that orchestras hold) candidates are given a problem to complete at home.
Ensure all personal identies are wiped from candidate’s assignment and evaluate
against a standardized process (e.g., checklist). Consider allowing candidates
to complete the assignment in the ofce if preferred, as this may be preferred
for candidates with caretaking responsibilities.
Utilize behavioral-based interviewing that is standardized based on the
objective hiring criteria.
Ask potential hires the same questions. Develop an interview script that is used
for each candidate for a certain job. This can help avoid conrmation bias – which is
when someone forms an opinion and interprets new evidence as a conrmation of
that belief (such as an interviewer starting with preconceived opinion of a candidate
and asking questions geared to conrm that belief).
Create more pathways for contractors, temps and vendors to become
full-time employees.