De Mello Tanya J 202011 Phd Thesis

The Fit Interview and Cultural Matching: Examining Equity in Hiring Processes in Law Firms in Canada by Tanya Jo-Anna De Mello A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Social Justice Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Tanya Jo-Anna De Mello 2020 The Fit Interview and Cultural Matching: Examining Equity in Hiring Processes in Law Firms in Canada Tanya Jo-Anna De Mello Doctor of Philosophy Social Justice Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto Abstract When someone says, “This person is a perfect fit for the job,” I find myself asking, “what does it mean to fit?” and “who fits and who doesn’t?” In many interview processes, recruiters assess a candidate’s fit, that is how well suited they believe the candidate is to a given workplace. Big law firms in Toronto have developed a structured interview process that formalizes the practice of assessing candidates for fit, which is referred to in this study as the fit interview. This study examines how racialized candidates are affected by the fit interview, documenting their stories to understand how they made meaning of their experiences. Semi-structured narrative interviews were conducted with 25 racialized interviewees and 5 recruiters, two of whom were racialized, who have participated in recruitment in big law firms in Toronto. The participants’ narratives were interpreted using critical qualitative analysis, rooted in critical race, feminist, and intersectional theories. All participants described experiences in the fit interview as consistent with cultural matching, that is recruiters tending to hire candidates similar to themselves in terms of personal interests, values and ii backgrounds, which are often linked to social identities (i.e., race, gender, class, etc.). Participants confirmed that cultural matching was more determinative in assessing candidates than competence, skills, or professional background. Participants believed that their race, gender, and class affected recruiters’ perception of whether they were a cultural match. In general, interviewees found the fit interview alienating, invalidating, and traumatizing. This study suggests that the fit interview may serve as a barrier to racialized candidates’ entry into law firms. I conclude by making recommendations for operational change, informed by the participants’ experiences and suggestions, the literature, and my experience consulting on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The theories in which this study is rooted call on researchers to catalyze systemic change by conveying findings to those who have the capacity to enact change and transform systems. Although this study is focussed on experiences of racialized people in big law firms, my hope is that the findings prompt other businesses and organizations in Canada to critically re-examine their recruitment and retention practices. iii Acknowledgments I would like to open my acknowledgments by thanking Dr. Gale Seiler. If I were to dedicate this work to one person, it would be to you, Gale. Thank you for believing in me, coaching me, listening to my thoughts and ideas, reading my work, debating with me, guiding me, prodding and poking me when I did not know how to keep going, and for believing so deeply in this project. Thank you most of all for your commitment to this work, for caring about racialized people with depth and then demonstrating this care in your actions. Thank you for the way you centre the voices of people and honour their stories. I devoured your thesis and it set a new standard for me and reaffirmed the importance of this work. Thank you for encouraging me to use my own voice and to let my writing be a reflection of my vision. Thank you for your unwavering support that I follow my own internal compass. We are unusual friends, Gale, and I learned as much from you in our moments of shared silence as I did from our rigorous debates. When I came home from a month-long writing retreat in the Yukon and had to work on my thesis while working a demanding full-time job, I did not feel I could do it. You wrote this to me and I read it every morning in the last year, often at 5 a.m., before I started to write: Tell yourself: I am a person who can do this. I am a person who can write for the next few months, even while working in Toronto. I have the discipline, desire, and drive to do that. I am that kind of person. Remember, it is an honour to write this, not a burden. I will help every step of the way. —Gale And you did. You helped me every step of the way. iv I want to thank my parents, Santan and Omega De Mello, who are always with me and as you will see in the Preface, their stories and lessons are my starting point. Mom and Dad, you taught me to always think about people that have not been included and then to go beyond thinking and include them. Your faith and works have guided my life and I know that I am here because of the sacrifices that you made for me. You have always, first and foremost, taught me to focus on human dignity in my work, my relationships, and my life. I love you as parents, but more than that, I also just like you so much as people. You are my closest advisors and role models. I respect you both so much. And for me, respect is the deepest form of love. To my Aunty Otilia, who has backed me in all of my academic pursuits and dreams, and to my Aunty Osie, who is still with me every day. Both of you would have been here for my graduation. You taught me to speak up and to believe that I could do and be anything. You helped raise me to become the person I am today. Next and most importantly, I want to acknowledge the time, candour and courage of the participants that I interviewed in this research. Your interviews were the highlight of the experience and I am grateful for both your trust in me and your openness. All of the participants stated that they were involved with this work because they wanted to change the system fundamentally. The recruiters I interviewed were grappling with their hiring processes and trying to effect systemic change where they had power. I used pseudonyms to protect your identities and decided to use the names of my friends’ children specifically because all of us who participated in this work did so in the hopes of improving processes and systems for those who follow us. v My dissertation committee not only influenced my work but improved it greatly. I do not know what I did to deserve you, Dr. Kiran Mirchandani, Dr. Vannina Sztainbok, and Dr. Ruth Childs. But I can promise you that in honour of what I was given by you, I will pay it forward to help others as a sign of my gratitude. Ruth, I cannot believe how much you give to your students. You steered me and unblocked me, you laughed with me, and you improved the writing on every page. To the Chair of Social Justice Education, Dr. Njoki Wane, you made OISE home to me. Njoki, the work you do to encourage racialized students has not gone unnoticed. Dr. Frances Henry, I hold you in such high esteem and felt honoured to have you as my external examiner. And then there were also those who felt like you were on my Committee: Dr. Anne Jordan and Dr. Robert Leckey, thank you a million times over. Maria Kissoon (O Captain! My Captain!), you are always on my Committee. Dr. Miglena Todorova, you started me on this journey. Without you, I would have never got out of the gate. You are a transformative teacher. To Jacqueline Benn-John, who wrote side-by-side with me on Skype for untold hours, dozens of weekends, at 2 a.m. and at 5 a.m. I learned that this work is incredibly isolating, and working together with you pushed me through. I cannot wait to call you Doctor Benn-John. And don’t forget, this work is our protest march. I want to acknowledge those who have come before me and on whose shoulders I have stood, including all the academics and activists who have informed my consciousness and shaped me as a thinker, a scholar, and a doer. These visionaries are too numerous to mention, but to name a few in my inner circle for this work, I thank you: Arleen Huggins, Dr. Malinda S. Smith, Dr. Minelle Mahtani, Dr. Hadiya Roderique, Ritu Bhasin, and Stephen vi Lewis. I also want to thank those who are doing the work in law and academia every day, including Gina Alexandris (who believed in me and opened up so much for me), Laleh Moshiri, Catherine Chang, Sandra Montanino, Kari Abrams, Mary Jackson, Stacy Zosky, Dr. Asher Alkoby, Terry Gardiner, Dr. Payam Akhavan, Dr. Sean Mills, Dr. Janelle Joseph, Alexis Archbold, Archana Sridhar, Dr. Roy Moodley, Leanne Smith, Amorell Saunders N’Daw, Carrie Mauer, Trish Starling, Scott Clarke, Milé Komlen, Dr. Evelyn Hamdon, Dr. Jane Ngobia, Michelle Poirier, Sonya Nigam, Allison Hector-Alexander, Scott Thomas, Nancy Simms, Ingrid Ali, Christine Hsu, Liza Arnason, Dr. Tayyab Rashid, and Vilma Rossi. To my “Support and Gear Team,” who took care of the everyday, held together the spiritual and the emotional parts of me in this work and kept me in one piece, I want to thank: Jennifer Stone, Lise Grimwood, Youri Tessier Stall, and Dr.

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