Video-first interviews disadvantage women, study finds

An extensive study conducted by Sapia.ai Labs revealed that while candidates are generally satisfied with both video and chat-based interviews, the completion rates and times tell a different story.

According to the findings, video-first interview processes lead to a longer recruitment period and disproportionately disadvantage women.

Sapia.ai analysed data from over 1.3 million candidates worldwide applying for roles via their Chat Interview and Video Interview platforms. The research showed that of the candidates who completed the chat interview (1,309,490), 60.3% completed the task within 24 hours. In contrast, only 33.4% of the candidates who completed the video interview (453,808) did it in the same timeframe. Completion rates for chat interviews were also comparably higher for both men and women relative to video interviews.

Women took more time to finish video interview tasks and showed a higher likelihood to drop out. Across both genders, the completion rates were fairly equal for chat interviews, with about 79% of both men and women who were asked to undertake a chat interview completing it. Meanwhile, only 78% of men and 74% of women completed the video interview task.

Dr. Buddhi Jayatilleke, Chief Data Scientist and Head of Sapia.ai Labs, commented, "Our hypothesis here was that uninvasive, untimed chat-based interviews would be preferred by candidates, and that's been confirmed by the data." Whereas these conclusions were anticipated, the preference split across genders was unanticipated.

He added, "While candidates were generally satisfied with both methods, the speed in which they completed chat-based interview tasks over video interview tasks speaks volumes towards their preference. As does the difference in the dropout rate between the two."

Barb Hyman, Sapia.ai's CEO and Founder, echoed this sentiment, noting how leading with video interviews could lead to companies missing out on qualitative talent. She stated, "We know, both from first-hand experience and now our data, that a video-first disadvantages women. Our study shows there's a reasonable percentage of women that if asked to do a video interview, simply choose to take more time or remove themselves from the process entirely."

This research was among three other papers from Sapia.ai Labs presented at the Society for Industrial-Organisational Psychology (SIOP) in Chicago, Illinois in April. Sapia.ai's findings underscore a growing trend of AI adoption among corporate leaders, with the company having several high-profile brands such as Qantas, Starbucks, and Woolworths Group as its clients.

By utilising Natural Language Processing (NLP), Sapia.ai's chat AI interviews, assesses and screens for the best talent at scale via an easy to use platform. The process aims to improve diversity outcomes by eliminating unconscious bias in candidate screening, generating insights valuable for both candidates and hiring teams.