During this session, we will discuss how the principles of inclusive design can be applied to the recruitment process to reduce access barriers for disabled applicants. We will discuss how inclusive design can be applied in other areas of workplace policy and practice.

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Inclusive Design
in the Recruitment
Process
Chris Fawcett
www.linkedin.com/in/chris-fawcett-54b15323

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Why do we care?
1. Morally and reputationally – brand
2. Commercially
3. Legal and regulatory

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Diversity – appreciating the existence of variations of characteristics that make an
individual unique
Inclusion – fostering a culture wherein individuals are welcomed, comfortable and
treated fairly and respectfully
Equality – providing each individual or group of people the same resources or
opportunities
Equity – recognising that each person has different circumstances and allocates the
exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome
Definitions

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Equality vs Equity

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Equality and inclusive design

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“those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments
which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with others.” Article 1 UN CRPD
• sight loss
• deaf or hard of hearing
• mental health conditions
• intellectual disability
• acquired brain injury
• autism spectrum disorder
• physical disability
What is disability?

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• 1.3 billion out of 7.6 billion people in the world live with some form of disability
World Bank Group
• $8 trillion collective spending power of this group, their friends and families
Global Economics of Disability report
• 80% of disabilities are acquired between the ages of18 and 64 –
workforce age Disability Living Foundation
• 4% of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disability Global
Economics of Disability Report
• 0% of senior managers or Executives in FTSE100 companies have publicly
declared they have a disability Disability Rights UK
Disability in society

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80% of disabilities are ‘hidden’

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• Needs charity
• Can’t see or hear
• Needs carers and help
• Has special needs
• Needs a doctor or a cure
• Is housebound
• Ungrateful or bitter attitude
• Can’t cope by themselves
• Can’t make decisions
• Can’t use hands
• Can’t walk
• Is sick
• Has fits
• ’Confined’ to a wheelchair
The medical model
“The problem is the Disabled person”

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• Poorly designed buildings
• Stairs not ramps / no lifts
• Discrimination
• Few sign language interpreters
• Isolated families
• Bad signage
• Poor job prospects
• Inaccessible transport
• Inaccessible technology
The social model
“The problem is the disabled world”

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• Accessibility is the goal to ensure that products and services support each
individual user’s needs and preferences
• Users’ needs and preferences are so diverse that there is no perfectly
“accessible” final result
• It’s an iterative process that requires accepting new information about what
users want and need , and adapting products and services accordingly over
the lifespan of a product
• Often based upon compliance with governmental legislation, an/or industry-
designated guidelines, such as; ADA, Equality Act (2010), WCAG
• Often focuses on specific adjustments or accommodations to ensure that
disabled people have access to products, services, or environments
What is Accessibility and Accessible Design?

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• “The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the
greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised
design.” Ronald L .Mace 1980
• ‘Design for everyone’ - designs that all people can use fully, without
the need for adaptations.
• Universal design does not aim to address individual accessibility needs.
• Universal design typically results in product features that benefit a
variety of users, not just people with disabilities
• Pavement curbs
• Automatic doors
• ‘Raising hand’ in Zoom and Teams
What is universal design?

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• ‘Design that considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability,
language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference’ OCAD
University, Totonto
• Inclusive design acknowledges that it is not always possible or appropriate for one
solution to meet every user's needs, and thus explores different solutions for
different groups of people.
• Instead, inclusive design guides an appropriate design response to diversity in the
population through:
• Developing a family of products and services to provide the best possible
coverage of the population.
• Ensuring that each individual product and service has clear and distinct target
users.
• Reducing the level of ability required to use each product or service , in order
to improve the user experience for a broad range of customers, in a variety of
situations.
What is Inclusive design?

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The pyramid model of diversity (inclusive
design)

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• Recognise exclusion
Designing for inclusivity not only opens up our products and services to
more people, it also reflects how people really are. All humans grow and
adapt to the world around them and we want our designs to reflect that.
• Solve for one, extend to many
Everyone has abilities, and limits to those abilities. Designing for people with
permanent disabilities actually results in designs that benefit people
universally. Constraints are a beautiful thing.
• Learn from diversity
Human beings are the real experts in adapting to diversity. Inclusive design
puts people in the centre from the very start of the process, and those fresh,
diverse perspectives are the key to true insight.
Microsoft’s Inclusive design principles

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• Recognise exclusion
Designing for inclusivity not only opens up our products and services to
more people, it also reflects how people really are. All humans grow and
adapt to the world around them and we want our designs to reflect that.
• Solve for one, extend to many
Everyone has abilities, and limits to those abilities. Designing for people with
permanent disabilities actually results in designs that benefit people
universally. Constraints are a beautiful thing.
• Learn from diversity
Human beings are the real experts in adapting to diversity. Inclusive design
puts people in the centre from the very start of the process, and those fresh,
diverse perspectives are the key to true insight.
Microsoft’s Inclusive design principles

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• The content of a job advert needs to be inclusive in terms of language use
• Omit stock criteria that are not relevant to a role (driving licence, degree etc.)
• The job advert itself needs to be accessible (digitally)
• The job advert needs to be located on an accessible website/part of an accessible platform
• Consideration of where adverts are placed in order to attract diverse talent
• Promoting employer’s diversity benchmarks as part of advert (Disability Confident, DEI
score etc.)
• Provide a named contact with whom a prospective candidate may liaise with respect to
reasonable adjustments for application process
• Make it clear what the application process will involve (application form, CV, interviews,
assessment centres etc.)
Advertising and job descriptions

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• Make provision for alternative forms of application as Reasonable Adjustments where
appropriate – video applications etc.
• Provide a named contact with whom a prospective candidate may liaise with respect to
reasonable adjustments for application process
• Consider what you actually want to assess in each stage of the process and that are not
assessing these and exclude any aspects that might lead to microaggressions and/or bias
(unintended assessment constructs) – e.g removing applicants names, gender etc. Removing
disability information requires further thought when applicants declare disability as part of
their application (skills associated with ‘grit’ etc.)
• Ensure that all stages of the application process are digitally accessible (WCAG 2.1 AA)
• Consider whether or not to formally ask if a candidate wishes to declare a disability as part
of the application process - linked to offering interviews to disabled candidates that meet
the threshold criteria for the role (guaranteed interviews – mandatory Disability Confident L2
criterion)
Application process

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• When choosing your assessment methods consider their validity to
ensure that you are actually testing for the skills, knowledge and/or
behaviours the role requires (avoid unintended constructs)
• Keep language and contexts simple
• Accommodate any Reasonable Adjustments/accommodations that
have been requested for interviews (eg BSL/ASL interpreters,
captioning on video interviews, building access arrangements,
arrangements for mute candidates)
• Accommodate any Reasonable Adjustments that have been
requested for other assessment exercises (WCAG2.1AA accessible
materials, accommodations relating to neurodiversity etc.)
Selection process (interview, exercises,
assessment centres, etc.)

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• Ascertain what reasonable adjustments they will require in
post at the same time as, but separate from making the
offer
• Commission an Access to Work assessment ot other
accommodation requirement process
• Ensure accommodations are put in place by their start date
• Provide details of employee networks/ERGs
Making an offer

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• Staff
• Staff networks
• Staff surveys
• Other companies
• Non-profits
• Disability organisations
Sources of inclusive design intelligence

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Inclusive design beyond recruitment…