When I was a manager with a global financial services firm, I was frequently required to interview and hire job candidates. I would always review their applications to look for qualifications and pedigree – as well as look for discrepancies in their resume – before conducting in-person interviews (this was life before Zoom). My focus was to understand their work ethic and interpersonal skills, that together might reveal an applicant that would fit our organisation.

Whilst their resume and in-person interview would literally show me who they were, I refused to let race, ethnicity or gender play a part in my hiring decision. I believed – then as I do now – that talent and character rise above all else.

In short, I refused to “check the box” on the colour of their skin or ethnic background, instead believing that the content of their character and quality of their professionalism would set them apart and help them add value to my team.

Understand that this is from a world citizen. I’m not “white” by the traditional definition. I am a Syrian Lebanese Jew born in the UK, raised in a multicultural household, educated in Europe, and who has spent over 10 years of my life working and living in America. I learned long ago to accept people on the basis of their character, not the attributes a census-like form might define them as having.

Europe doesn’t have “boxes” for race, nationality or country of origin, or otherwise needlessly distinctive traits that I believe are mostly useless on employment or government forms.

Some believe boxes – and the potential quotas they serve – create divisions in the workplace and society.  Boxes, in whatever way they are presented, are a source of the divisions we face today. Creating boxes creates division where none should be.

Dozens of states have started a “ban the box” policy in hiring that seeks to encourage employers to consider a job candidate’s qualifications over any previous conviction or arrest that has been served.

To be sure, diversity in the workplace is important. In a practical sense, “box-blind” hiring should lead a company or office to becoming a reflection of the market or community it serves. It should elevate excellence by ensuring that the best candidates are chosen, who in turn raise productivity and the performance of the organisation.

For example, it has been my personal experience that women perform better in the business world; they’re more detail focused and empathetic – just two traits that help the office thrive. In fact, back in the era when men dominated financial services. I dealt with instances where people looked suspiciously at the make-up of my team, wondering – incorrectly – whether they had been hired for the wrong reasons.

No, I replied to those who asked or wondered aloud. I hired them because they were smart and had pro instincts. In other words, they had a battle-ax mentality. In fact, when my wife couldn’t attend a philanthropic ball, I took one such female executive with me  – with my wife’s knowledge and approval. “Let their tongues wag.”

Discrimination, racism and sexism are horrible. We need to rid them from society. At the ball, people were projecting their own sexism upon me. Growing up with a tick the box mentality is forcing people to make unnecessary choices.

Instead, we need to be more thoughtful about what we say and mean. We need to put ourselves into other people’s shoes or situations on the road to eliminating personal bias.

Done well, we’ll find the right employees – without checking any boxes.

If you believe a world-trained voice of reason can help your organisation take a fresh look at the boxes you may use, let’s talk. Your team could be stronger without all those checks and boxes.