Even if that were the case, which I don’t think it is because the underlying problem is something else, the current predominant interviewing process does little to alleviate that problem as well.
I don’t think we can magically solve inequality by trying to fix the interviewing process or by denying there are social networks.
Actually there are historical examples of where changing the interviewing process solved inequality. All it took was a curtain.
You see there where few women in orchestras and it was said that this was because they didn't have the talent so couldn't get expirence, rather than being unable to get expirence due to prejudice. Then blind auditions started, interviewers would sit in front of a curtain, candidate would come in behind and play their music. Suddenly when the interviews could only judge on performance the same women that they said didn't have the talent where the ones they were choosing and that inequality was fixed. Now there might not work if the underlying cause is something else but it has worked.
”Professor Michael Hiscox, a Harvard academic who oversaw the trial, said he was shocked by the results and has urged caution.
"We anticipated this would have a positive impact on diversity — making it more likely that female candidates and those from ethnic minorities are selected for the shortlist," he said.
"We found the opposite, that de-identifying candidates reduced the likelihood of women being selected for the shortlist."
The trial found assigning a male name to a candidate made them 3.2 per cent less likely to get a job interview.
Adding a woman's name to a CV made the candidate 2.9 per cent more likely to get a foot in the door.
"We should hit pause and be very cautious about introducing this as a way of improving diversity, as it can have the opposite effect," Professor Hiscox said.”
I don’t think we can magically solve inequality by trying to fix the interviewing process or by denying there are social networks.