Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups
Many important decisions in societies such as school admissions, hiring or elections are based on the selection of top-ranking individuals from a larger pool of candidates. This process is often subject to biases, which typically manifest as an under-representation of certain groups among the select...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.210821 |
| _version_ | 1818736620266848256 |
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| author | I. Smirnov F. Lemmerich M. Strohmaier |
| author_facet | I. Smirnov F. Lemmerich M. Strohmaier |
| author_sort | I. Smirnov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many important decisions in societies such as school admissions, hiring or elections are based on the selection of top-ranking individuals from a larger pool of candidates. This process is often subject to biases, which typically manifest as an under-representation of certain groups among the selected or accepted individuals. The most common approach to this issue is debiasing, for example, via the introduction of quotas that ensure a proportional representation of groups with respect to a certain, often binary attribute. This, however, has the potential to induce changes in representation with respect to other attributes. For the case of two correlated binary attributes, we show that quota-based debiasing based on a single attribute can worsen the representation of the most under-represented intersectional groups and decrease the overall fairness of selection. Our results demonstrate the importance of including all relevant attributes in debiasing procedures and that more efforts need to be put into eliminating the root causes of inequalities as purely numerical solutions such as quota-based debiasing might lead to unintended consequences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:40:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-448c35b5cfa947d99e6992c2c6368964 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:40:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-448c35b5cfa947d99e6992c2c63689642022-12-21T21:26:56ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032021-09-018910.1098/rsos.210821Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groupsI. Smirnov0F. Lemmerich1M. Strohmaier2Department for Society, Technology and Human Factors and Department of Computer Science, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyFaculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Passau, Passau, Bayern, GermanyDepartment for Society, Technology and Human Factors and Department of Computer Science, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyMany important decisions in societies such as school admissions, hiring or elections are based on the selection of top-ranking individuals from a larger pool of candidates. This process is often subject to biases, which typically manifest as an under-representation of certain groups among the selected or accepted individuals. The most common approach to this issue is debiasing, for example, via the introduction of quotas that ensure a proportional representation of groups with respect to a certain, often binary attribute. This, however, has the potential to induce changes in representation with respect to other attributes. For the case of two correlated binary attributes, we show that quota-based debiasing based on a single attribute can worsen the representation of the most under-represented intersectional groups and decrease the overall fairness of selection. Our results demonstrate the importance of including all relevant attributes in debiasing procedures and that more efforts need to be put into eliminating the root causes of inequalities as purely numerical solutions such as quota-based debiasing might lead to unintended consequences.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.210821quotadebiasingalgorithmic fairnessintersectionality |
| spellingShingle | I. Smirnov F. Lemmerich M. Strohmaier Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups Royal Society Open Science quota debiasing algorithmic fairness intersectionality |
| title | Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups |
| title_full | Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups |
| title_fullStr | Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups |
| title_short | Quota-based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under-represented groups |
| title_sort | quota based debiasing can decrease representation of the most under represented groups |
| topic | quota debiasing algorithmic fairness intersectionality |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.210821 |
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