Antibias Receives Honorable Mention at Fast Company’s 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards
Beyond, a design company with studios in New York, San Francisco, Austin, and London, recently launched antibias, a Google Chrome extension. antibias replaces LinkedIn profile photos with a unique pattern of geometric shapes, removing any potential bias introduced by photos when reviewing job applicants.
The tool has received an honorable mention in the experimental category at Fast Company’s 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards, which were announced today.
antibias encourages recruiters and hiring managers to assess candidates based purely on their credentials and achievements — not on superficial traits. It supports more accurate assessments of applicants, and helps diversify the upper portion of the hiring funnel.
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“Delivering success for our clients relies on creativity and innovation,” explained Nick Rappolt, Chief Executive Officer of Beyond. “As a team, we recognize how important it is to attract and retain diverse talent. This can be challenging, especially if unconscious bias is at play in the hiring process. Members of our team felt so strongly about this, they worked to create antibias in their spare time.”
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The tool, which was created internally at Beyond, came as an output from the company’s implicit bias training for employees, evolving from idea to functional prototype in just a few hours.
“While antibias addresses only a fraction of the problem, it illustrates an important truth: the only way to fight unconscious bias is by taking small, conscious steps,” said Nick Manluccia, Associate Director of Insights at Beyond, and a member of the antibias team. “We’re asking other agencies and businesses of all sizes to join us in the effort to more fairly assess applicants and recruit the best possible talent.”
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