Episode 136
Building an Inclusive Workplace: The Role of Talent Acquisition in DEI | with Rajeev Sharma
Talent acquisition is the front door to DEI. Rajeev Sharma, Director of TA at Amazon APAC, explains how to move beyond diversity metrics into equity and belonging—and why your recruiting team must understand the why.
Episode Key Takeaways
DEI has evolved from compliance checkbox to business imperative. Ten years ago, organizations focused narrowly on meeting anti-discrimination laws; today, the field expands to include neurodiversity, disability, LGBTQI+ communities, and intersectional identities. Equity now plays a larger role across the entire employee lifecycle—from recruiting through retention—requiring intentional audits of demographic disparities and targeted policy solutions.
Rajeev defines equity as giving people the right tools to excel, not identical tools for everyone. The analogy: equality means everyone gets a shoe; equity means everyone gets a shoe that fits. In practice, this means building recruiting systems in multiple languages, ensuring accessibility for visually and hearing-impaired candidates, and designing processes that work across geographies and regulatory environments.
Eliminate subjective CV screening by moving candidates directly to skills-based assessments. One organization that removed the CV review stage saw rejected candidates clear assessments and get hired successfully. Pairing this with diverse interview panels, behavior-based questioning focused on leadership principles rather than functional experience, and bar raiser roles creates multiple friction points to catch unconscious bias.
Open your sourcing funnel by breaking roles into transferable skills and behaviors, not industry-specific experience. An ops manager role requires data literacy, team leadership, and problem-solving—skills present in hospitality, manufacturing, BPO, and IT services. This approach expands the talent pool tenfold and naturally increases diversity without sacrificing capability.
Your recruiting team must buy into the purpose before they can sell it to candidates and hiring managers. The biggest gap Rajeev observed was underinvestment in educating recruiters on why DEI matters for business. If your TA team chases diversity targets without understanding the narrative, they cannot influence hiring managers or convince candidates that the organization is genuinely committed.
Frequently
Asked
Questions
How do you measure DEI progress when some dimensions like neurodiversity are hard to track?
Use optional self-ID questions in applications (gender, disability, veteran status where mandated), but recognize limitations. Supplement with business resource groups (BRGs) that don’t require self-identification to join—creating safe spaces for community and allyship. Pair with downstream metrics: track retention, promotion, and turnover by demographic cohort to identify leaky buckets. Technology tools can flag gaps in representation across the employee lifecycle.
What's the difference between diversity, inclusion, and equity in hiring?
Diversity is representation—who you hire. Inclusion is belonging—how candidates and employees feel in the organization. Equity is giving people what they need to succeed. In TA terms: diverse sourcing opens the funnel; inclusive processes (diverse panels, bias training) make candidates feel valued; equitable systems (accessible tools, multiple languages, reasonable accommodations) remove barriers so everyone can compete fairly.
How can AI help DEI without hardcoding bias?
AI can optimize hiring by pattern-matching candidates to role requirements, but only if trained on unbiased data. The risk: machine learning models inherit past hiring patterns, potentially amplifying homogeneity. Mitigate by building assessments grounded in science, testing tools across diverse geographies and user groups before deployment, and using AI for accessibility (voice-based applications for visually impaired candidates) and job description analysis (gender-neutral language detection).
What role should TA play beyond sourcing diverse candidates?
TA is the external-facing function that listens to candidate feedback and market signals, then feeds insights back to HR, talent management, and business leaders. This includes flagging perception gaps in employer branding, identifying where interview panels lack representation, and advocating for equitable processes. TA becomes a catalyst for systemic change, not just a sourcing engine.
How do you hire for leadership principles instead of functional experience?
Define the five core behaviors or principles required for the role—e.g., data literacy, team leadership, problem-solving, continuous learning. Then source and interview for those behaviors across industries. Use behavioral event interviewing to assess how candidates have demonstrated these principles in past roles. This approach widens the talent pool, reduces homogeneity, and allows you to train functional skills on the job.