How do you address unconscious bias in the workplace?
We all consider ourselves fair and just in our dealings, free from bias and prejudice, right? However, even the best among us often succumb to what is referred to as ‘unconscious bias’.
Unconscious biases are the inherent prejudices and stereotypes that individuals possess towards specific groups of people, often without being consciously aware of them. These biases can pertain to individuals based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and other factors. They operate on a subconscious level and have a profound impact on how individuals perceive and interact with others in their surroundings.
Believe it or not, we all have succumbed to unconscious bias at various levels, knowingly or unknowingly.
Here are some examples of unconscious bias in the workplace, say, while hiring for your organization based on gut feeling:
How do you go about avoiding unconscious biases? Try implementing some of these suggestions:
Education and Awareness
Conduct a workshop where employees share personal stories about how unconscious bias affected their workplace experiences. For example, at one of our workshops, a technical architect shared how she initially underestimated a colleague’s technical skills because of their gender. This opened up a dialogue and allowed people to relate to the bias and how it affected their experiences.
This type of education and awareness program makes people more aware of their biases.
Training and Development
Conduct interactive training programs for all levels of employees.
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In one of our interactive training sessions, one of our people shared how he favored employees who resembled him in terms of background and interests. You may often find that your teams prefer to work with people who have similar or shared interests and people who have a similar educational background as you do. Let us assume you are from a premier B-school, and you’d likely work with people from similar premier B-schools.
In such cases, the decision-making process becomes stereotypical, with no arguments and counter-arguments, as the entire team thinks the same way. Some organizations mistakenly call this a cultural fit. The counter is to actively seek diverse perspectives and talents when making decisions.
Hiring Process
Have you ever tried blind screening of your candidates?
This is something we have been thinking about and here’s how it works.
It involves removing personally identifiable information from resumes during the initial evaluation. This enables recruiters to focus solely on the applicant’s qualifications and experience, thereby reducing unconscious bias in the hiring process. I am sure this would do wonders in removing bias in the workplace.
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Diverse Representation
Promoting diversity and inclusion in leadership positions and decision-making roles is crucial to combat bias.
In India, women occupy 5 percent of executive positions and 10 percent of non-executive roles. Women remain vastly underrepresented in corporate boardrooms across the country and even worldwide. However, organizations are taking steps to ensure gender parity.
In our case, we are acutely aware of the gap here, and we are doing everything to bring gender parity. We are looking towards bridging the gap of diversity and inclusion at the executive level. We also identify talented individuals in underrepresented groups, mentor them, and provide growth opportunities. This ensures new perspectives in the decision-making process.
Evaluation and Accountability
Consider running an anonymous employee feedback system on bias-related experiences. This will encourage open discussions where employees can share their observations and suggest improvements without fear of retribution. Hold your managers accountable for addressing bias-related incidents and helping create an inclusive environment.
As human beings, we are inherently biased and totally eradicating bias is an ideological goal.
However, these steps help organizations largely reduce the negative impacts of biases and enrich the teams with fresh and diverse perspectives.
?Image credit: Image by Joseph Mucira from Pixabay .
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