How would a White Screen change the way you hire security professionals?

In the summer of 1980, Abby Conant, a trombone player, applied to 11 open positions across orchestras in Europe. A trombone is a musical instrument which is a wind instrument, similar to a trumpet. It requires a huge amount of lung power and has historically been thought to be a man’s instrument. Abby was a woman, but she was a great trombone player.

Abby got only one response. The one response was from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. They sent her a letter and asked her to appear for an audition. On the audition day, she reached the Deutsch Museum, where the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra was holding its audition. There were 33 candidates. Because one of the candidates was the son of a musician in one of the Munich orchestras, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra decided to hold the audition behind the white screen.

On one side of the white screen would be the person playing the trombone, and on the other side would be the jury evaluating the person playing. Abby was candidate number 16. When Abby played, she impressed the jury to the point where the music director of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra shouted that this is who I want. He was so convinced that he asked the organizers to send the remaining 17 candidates’ home who have not yet auditioned.

When Abby finally stepped out from the white screen, there was a collective gasp among the jury. They were shocked. They were expected a Mr. Conant and not a Miss Conant. However, given the circumstances, they had to take her in. They took her in for a probation period of one year. When the year was over, under the pretext that Abby was not a good musician, they demoted her. Abby took the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra to court, and she fought the case for over 8 years. Abby eventually won the case, and she was reinstated in the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

What a sad, but powerful story. What are the biases that you or your leadership team carry in your workplace? If you were to hold all your interviews behind a white screen, would you be choosing the same candidates? Imagine the possibilities when we remove all the biases.