When hiring employees, a business is usually hoping for a good match, an added skillset, and mission alignment. Unconscious bias often means most new candidates resemble the team already in place and doing the hiring.

Blendoor founder Stephanie Lampkin is helping big companies put merit at the center of their hiring processes — and increasing diversity as a result. “Blendoor is artificial intelligence and people analytics that mitigate unconscious bias, starting with hiring — which basically means that, understanding that people suck at judging other people, we are building technology that enables companies to see the true hireability of a diverse set of candidates, and we use analytics to help them identify where there may be bias happening throughout the hiring process,” says Lampkin.

As of 2017, 70 million Americans — one in three adults — have a criminal record, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). More than 640,000 people are released from prisons each week, but because of the stigma associated with a criminal record, nearly 75 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals are still unemployed a year after release.

The №1 cause of recidivism? Joblessness. Businesses can play a huge role in changing this reality — and stand to gain from creating opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals.

Read the full article about reducing bias barriers to employment at Medium.