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Adverse-impact ratio (AIR)

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The selection rate of a group divided by the selection rate of the most-selected group. Under the US Uniform Guidelines a ratio below four-fifths is generally treated as evidence of adverse impact 1; engineering practice reads it as a trigger for investigation, reported with counts and a confidence interval.

Developed in
ch. 16, The four-fifths rule and the adverse-impact ratio
Chapters
ch. 16, Fairness & XAI
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

2 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Adverse-impact ratio (AIR): mentions per chapter15 mentions of the term across 2 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter16 Fairness & XAI: 13 mentions16 Fairness & XAI1320 Existing Law: 2 mentions20 Existing Law2No mentions in the other 21 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Adverse-impact ratio (AIR): mentions per chapter15 mentions of the term across 2 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter00010203040506070810111213141516 Fairness & XAI: 13 mentions131617181920 Existing Law: 2 mentions220212223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Adverse-impact ratio (AIR) per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now0No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack0No
05 Patterns0No
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model0No
08 Regulatory Map0No
10 Reading List0No
11 AI Defined0No
12 Governance Program0No
13 Risk Management0No
14 Development0No
15 Deployment0No
16 Fairness & XAI13Yes
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act0No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law2No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards0No
23 AI Agents0No

Patterns that use this term

One pattern page uses the term.

Adverse-impact ratio (AIR): related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedColour: stack layer of the pattern03 EvalsAdverse-impact ratio (AIR)Related terms (2)Demographic parity · RelatedDemographic parityFour-fifths rule · RelatedFour-fifths rulePatterns using it (1)Fairness Eval Suite, 1 mention · Uses the termFairness Eval Suite
Adverse-impact ratio (AIR): related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedColour: stack layer of the pattern03 EvalsRelated terms (2)Demographic parity · RelatedDemographic parityFour-fifths rule · RelatedFour-fifths rulePatterns using it (1)Fairness Eval Suite, 1 mention · Uses the termFairness Eval SuiteAdverse-impactratio (AIR)
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Adverse-impact ratio (AIR)
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsDemographic parityRelated
Related termsFour-fifths ruleRelated
Patterns using itFairness Eval Suite, 1 mentionUses the term
  • Four-fifths rule

    The US Uniform Guidelines rule of thumb that a group selection rate below 80% of the highest group's rate will generally be regarded as evidence of adverse…

  • Demographic parity

    A group fairness criterion that holds when the rate of positive decisions is equal across groups; the adverse-impact ratio is its ratio form.

Sources

  1. [1] 29 CFR 1607.4(D), Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) (adverse impact and the "four-fifths rule", with statistical-significance and small-numbers caveats; text as of 2026-09-01). eCFR. 2026-09-01. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/part-1607/section-1607.4 (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Adverse-impact ratio (AIR). In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/adverse-impact-ratio-air. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026adverseimpactratioair,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Adverse-impact ratio (AIR)}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/adverse-impact-ratio-air}
}