Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical analysis of talent acquisition software and its potential for fostering equity in the hiring process for underrepresented IT professionals. The under-representation of women, African-American and Latinx professionals in the IT workforce is a longstanding issue that contributes to and is impacted by algorithmic bias. Design/methodology/approach Sources of algorithmic bias in talent acquisition software are presented. Feminist design thinking is presented as a theoretical lens for mitigating algorithmic bias. Findings Data are just one tool for recruiters to use; human expertise is still necessary. Even well-intentioned algorithms are not neutral and should be audited for morally and legally unacceptable decisions. Feminist design thinking provides a theoretical framework for considering equity in the hiring decisions made by talent acquisition systems and their users. Social implications This research implies that algorithms may serve to codify deep-seated biases, making IT work environments just as homogeneous as they are currently. If bias exists in talent acquisition software, the potential for propagating inequity and harm is far more significant and widespread due to the homogeneity of the specialists creating artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Originality/value This work uses equity as a central concept for considering algorithmic bias in talent acquisition. Feminist design thinking provides a framework for fostering a richer understanding of what fairness means and evaluating how AI software might impact marginalized populations.

This special issue of Information Systems Journal on Social Inclusion in the Information Systems Field was motivated by our desire to help the IS field to develop a greater understanding about aspects of human diversity in relation to the development, deployment, management, use, and impact of information systems and technologies. Consistent with a focus on human diversity, we were also interested in methodological diversity. Hence, we encouraged the submission of both quantitative and qualitative papers. We also requested papers representing positivist, interpretive, and critical epistemologies. Finally, we were interested in the use and extension of existing theories as well as the development of new ones. Our intention was to highlight rigorous IS research and theorizing about social inclusion in the information systems field. This, in turn, would support the larger goal of producing research that will contribute to a better understanding of the causes, manifestations and impacts of social exclusion, and subsequent interventions.

BackgroundA growing number of college students are experiencing personal circumstances or encountering situations that feel overwhelming and negatively affect their academic studies and other aspects of life on campus. To meet this growing demand for counseling services, US colleges and universities are offering a growing variety of mental health services that provide support and services to students in distress.ObjectiveIn this study, we explore mental health issues impacting college students using a corpus of news articles, foundation reports, and media stories. Mental health concerns within this population have been on the rise. Uncovering the most salient themes articulated in current news and literature reports can better enable higher education institutions to provide health services to its students.MethodsWe used SAS Text Miner to analyze 165 references that were published from 2010 to 2015 and focused on mental health among college students. Key clusters were identified to reveal the themes that were most significant to the topic.ResultsThe final cluster analysis yielded six themes in students’ mental health experiences in higher education (ie, age, race, crime, student services, aftermath, victim). Two themes, increasing demand for student services provided by campus counseling centers (113/165, 68.5%) and the increased mental health risks faced by racial and ethnic minorities (30/165, 18.2%), dominated the discourse.ConclusionsHigher education institutions are actively engaged in extending mental health services and offering targeted outreach to students of color. Cluster analysis identified that institutions are devoting more and innovative resources in response to the growing number students who experience mental health concerns. However, there is a need to focus on proactive approaches to mitigate the causes of mental health and the aftermath of a negative experience, particularly violence and sexual assault. Such strategies can potentially influence how students navigate their health information seeking and how information and communication technologies, including mobile apps, can partially address the needs of college students.

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Professional computing organisations, including the ACM, IEEE and INFORMS published statements supporting Black Lives Matter during the 2020 racial unrest in the United States. While the voices of these professional organisations are echoed from positions of power, the concerns of Black IS professors are silenced. In this opinion piece, we centre on the voices of Black professors who seek to thrive in an IS field where they are woefully underrepresented, tokenized, isolated, marginalised and excluded from positions of power. Building on the Black Lives Matter movement's momentum, we offer critical insights about our lived experiences and examine pertinent issues. These issues include systemic racism in the ivory tower and the performative nature of diversity work in the academy. In direct response to the Help the Association of Information Systems (AIS) Build a System that Provides Equality for All, we offer an inclusive framework for promoting transparency, justification, compliance and enforcement of the AIS's action plan for widening participation in IS.