“Most AIs for recruiting don't use the right data, which leads them to false conclusions. We are planning to change the world”.
Hannah was a migrant herself when, standing in a huge line at the Mexican Immigration office with her German passport, she witnessed two Creole-speaking guys being rejected because of their background and citizenship.
Reflection on these biases eventually led her to the idea of creating an AI-based hiring app, Intrare, that would be absolutely prejudice-free, helping good specialists find jobs without bias, whether they are single moms with an experience gap, non-cisgender individuals, or migrants.
Changing The Way AI Works
Have you applied the Intrare method in hiring your own team? We usually hire via LinkedIn, really scanning through profiles, but paying attention to different things. Normally people will choose someone who just physically conforms to what they want, or who is working at companies whose names they know. For instance, often the fact that someone has worked at the biggest names definitely does not mean they have the best skills. Or, if someone went to a public university, it does not mean they are not good at what they do. We want to hire the best person and make sure that none of the biases influences us in any way.
How do you actually get rid of those biases? The biggest problem in most AIs that exist for recruiting is that they don't use the right data when hiring, which leads them to false conclusions such as: "a single mom is not going to be committed because she has other things on her mind."
The truth is the opposite: usually, moms are more committed because they have a huge sense of responsibility. This means that the data being used is not very indicative of who the best candidates really are; it's just indicative of who companies used to hire.
So, I think it's super important to scratch the notion of just using as much data as possible. Our AI also makes hiring more efficient. Soon, we will publish data on how we are eliminating bias. AI is not just a black box; AI is something that can be measured. Yes, we are planning to change the world. Right now, there are a lot of AI applications that risk creating more inequality in the world. We, as humanity, have to understand and fight that.
Overcoming Obstacles
What made you who you are, someone who cares about people other than herself? Honestly, I think the best answer to this is that I grew up in a super small town in Germany. Growing up, I felt very frustrated with the environment I was in. I felt really disconnected and unsupported. During my master's at LSE, I finally connected with professors and peers who wanted to achieve great things.
Have the pandemic and the overall disturbing events affected you? There was a really low moment when we had just started Intrare and the pandemic hit. We were going through a really hard time and nearly had to stop because we lacked funding. Coming out of that, I was very lucky to get into a great accelerator here in Mexico, with New Ventures. [Note: This initiative has no connection to inDrive’s New Ventures program]. After the pandemic, I finally met other entrepreneurs, people who were nerdy about the same things I cared about. Now I feel like I'm really experiencing peer support and mentorship from people who can guide me.
What would you say to little Hannah, lost in that small town, now as a successful woman, if you had a chance to meet her?
Oh, I would definitely say never listen to the doubters. There will always be hundreds of people who don't understand what you want to do. And really believe in yourself.
How To Be An Ally
What barriers, in your opinion, are women who run their own businesses facing in Mexico? There is a lot of sexism in business here, still. It's two-sided: I think sexism comes first from men who are perpetuating this, but also from women. What I've seen a lot, and my Mexican friends too, is that sexism is very ingrained from kindergarten and school onward. For men, this also applies pressure, making it hard for women to break out of that scheme. Because when you suddenly want to do something different, like starting a business, you can be treated as an outsider to that society.
Have you experienced bias against you in the hiring process? When I was starting Intrare, it happened quite a lot that I would go into meetings with government officials and big organizations in inclusion and migration. In these meetings, the mainly 40- and 50-year-old businessmen would see me, in my 20s, and just not take me seriously. The issue was a mix between me being a woman and also me being quite young.
I think it's super important not to victimize yourself in these situations; it doesn't help. It's not good for your self-confidence, either. So what I do is to simply be myself, be very assertive, be very cool about it.
How do you think we can narrow the investment gap between women-founded businesses and men-founded businesses? The steps are: equal interviewing and information gathering; interviewing panels that evaluate potential bias, and more diverse teams. This would truly change how things work. You need to have a discussion about potential bias, actively analyzing: is there anything that could be biasing us for or against that person? It's very common for someone to say something like, “Oh, it's possible that I'm being biased in favor of this person because they went to the same university as me.”
Have you ever had to use men as a cover to protect your business from prejudice? Often I go to conferences where I meet all the investors together with friends of mine who are entrepreneurs and are men. I tell them guys, we know that it's easier for you to be listened to. You can pitch us to them and in this way uplift us, or show how much you believe in us and give that extra punch. For anyone who's a guy and an entrepreneur or investor: take some time to reflect on how you can do that for the women in your life.
Be proactive, and maybe even go up to them and say: "Hey, for sure you have experienced this. I would really love to be an ally. And I really love to support you in this way."
Do you think women can support each other better? If yes, how? Yeah, definitely, 100%. I love what's happening recently with communities for women to participate in. One that was founded here in Mexico, but is becoming global, is Amela Tech Club for women in tech. This is a community of women who all have tech companies and often feel pretty alone because they don't know any other women in this space. And I think the best thing that has happened to me is building friendships with people who are also entrepreneurs.
What will you do with that prize money? Most of this is going into continuing to improve our AI.
Intrare In Numbers
Interview by Sima Piterskaia, Contributing author for the Aurora Tech Award
