The world’s first disability job board Evenbreak today announced it has joined the Disability Ethical AI Alliance (DEAI) in solidarity with leading global organisations such as IBM and the Australian Network on Disability, who are working to ensure HR tech is working for disabled people, not against them. AI Developers, Responsible Tech influencers and HR Leaders are seeking to address the biases built into AI Recruitment tools for age, gender, sex and race while still managing to discriminate against those people who also happen to have a disability.
The DEAI, is an informal thought leadership initiative that aims to persuade the global AI community and associated influencers that disability is a part of the human condition that matters. AI recruitment tools are now considered an organisations first line of defence in recruitment, using models that match ideal existing employees. However, due to video interviewing AI, qualified people are missing out on employment opportunities, because their disabilities do not match the blueprint. Someone with a speech impediment, due to Cerebral Palsy or facial disfigurement caused by an accident would not make the first round of recruitment.
By joining the DEAI Evenbreak is actively part of an organisation that aims to:
- Help AI creators, developers and buyers to understand how the disability discrimination they are facing impacts on an organisation’s talent pool, workforce and customers.
- Demonstrate that AI regulation is inadequate by increasing pressure on regulators worldwide to brain these AI tools into the realm of consumer protection.
- Highlight a need for an HR accreditation that builds specialist knowledge on the impact of discriminatory AI recruitment practices.
- Develop a Disability Ethical? AI resource library to help organisations worldwide to demonstrate that building technology which works for disabled people is ultimately better for everyone.
Evenbreak, Founder and CEO, Jane Hatton, said: “I was alerted to the work the DEAI is doing by a member of my marketing team, Titi Lucas. Even though I have worked in recruitment and addressing the inequalities in the workplace for over 20 years, I am staggered by the amount of work to be done in AI to ensure disabled candidates are given an even chance of getting through the first round of recruitment. When employers consider equality in the workplace Disability continues to trail behind, Evenbreak will continue to be at the forefront raising awareness and fighting for this to change. Disabled people are premium candidates, who due to their living experience have fine-tuned project management skills, problem solving skills and innovative minds that the modern workplace needs to succeed. We can’t afford for new HR AI technology to let everyone down.”
