Definition
Adverse impact
Adverse impact is a substantially different selection or advancement rate across protected groups produced by an assessment or hiring process. In the US it is commonly flagged when the selection rate for one group is less than four-fifths of the highest group's rate.
Why it matters for HR leaders
Even a well-intentioned assessment can produce illegal outcomes. Adverse impact monitoring is not optional — it is the legal and ethical baseline for any selection tool.
How Leadify uses it
Leadify continuously monitors score distributions across demographic groups, audits rubrics for content that could induce bias, and provides adverse impact reports on request for enterprise clients.