Wednesday 17 August 2022

The QWERTY Problem & Diversity

I've been reading a book called Corruptible (Who Gets into Power and How it Changes Us) and came across a section on recruitment and HR.

It began with the QWERTY problem, which I wasn't aware of. Apparently, our keyboards are laid out to the QWERTY protocol because of a problem that's no longer applicable, This problem was that old fashioned typewriters in the 1870s had problems with frequently used letters that were next to each other and led to the keyboard sticking. The solution was to separate them, resulting (after several iterations) in the QWERTY layout we're all familiar with.


With the advent of the electronic keyboard, this mechanical problem no longer exists, yet we still use keyboards laid out in the QWERTY layout. This has given rise to the QWERTY problem - that of allowing processes and procedures to be influenced by old thinking that no longer applies or is biased in some way.

This is particularly prevalent in recruitment, where there are many hangovers from the days where only white men were employed in the workforce of advanced economies, which has a huge influence on diversity and maximising the potential of a pool or resources.

From the book:

"Multiple randomized experiments have demonstrated that the language used in recruitment advertisements for leadership positions makes an enormous difference in who applies. For example, language is often subtly gendered. Researchers have found consistent evidence that a recruitment ad that refers to something like establishing “dominance over the competition” is perceived by prospective applicants as indicating a more male-heavy organization. Such aggressive language has been shown to reduce the number of women who apply to those positions of authority. Because the bias is subtle, you need to consciously counteract it."



Arise the progressive role of Diversity Officer, which those on the far right of the political spectrum call Woke. No, they're not Woke - they're looking to implement processes and procedures that put people in positions of power who can add value to a company, rather than sticking with the old paradigm which promotes those actively seeking power, who are statistically more corruptible.

There is, of course, the problem of Diversity Washing, where companies appoint a Diversity Officer and pay no attention to them whatsoever. If you Google for images of Diversity Officer, you are overwhelmed by images of ethnic minority Diversity Officer appointees.

As an aside, Age Washing is now also becoming quite prevalent. MacDonald's is actively promoting the idea that they welcome people over 50. It's not because they value the over 50s, but they simply can't get enough youngsters willing to work for a pittance. It's born of necessity, not consideration.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What makes you think white men are "more corruptible" than other groups?