They're Just Not a Good Fit: Interrogating and Interrupting Hiring Practices in Academic Libraries That Center Whiteness
Trainers: Samantha Guss, University of Richmond, Sojourna Cunningham, University of Richmond, Jennifer Stout, Virginia Commonweath University
Webinar description: As a profession, we talk the talk of valuing diversity and inclusion, but do we walk the walk with our hiring practices? The profession stresses the importance of “a good fit” when hiring, but we rarely interrogate the fact that “a good fit” can be a reflection of our implicit biases and that our very hiring practices continue to center and prioritize whiteness. Three academic librarians conducted a survey of hiring policies with a focus on the processes (or lack thereof) of recruiting candidates from underrepresented groups. This session will report on their findings and recommend the implementation of specific practices designed to create an inclusive candidate pool and an equitable search process.
Links and resources from the event:
A definition: BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, People Of Color
Samantha, Sojourna & Jenny’s paper: http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2019/ChallengingtheGoodFitNarrative.pdf
A document on white supremacy culture: https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteristics.html
A link to a the description of vocational awe: http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/
A link to the article: Sensoy and D’Angelo “we’re all for diversity, but..” https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-87.4.557