Are we conscious about our unconscious bias?

“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” – Sigmund Freud

As a lifelong champion of diversity and inclusion, although we’ve come so far, I believe there is still a long journey ahead to create workplaces where everyone – regardless of gender or any other personal characteristic – feels they can bring their whole selves to work. And what I’ve learned along the way is that it’s often what lies beneath the surface that is the most important to seek out and address if we are to continue driving progress - the hidden truth that we all risk not seeing until it’s too late.

The reality is that no matter how well-intentioned we are, we are only human. Our brains can sometimes make incredibly quick judgements of people and situations without us realizing, influenced by our backgrounds, cultural environments, where we live and grew up and our own personal experiences. We all have prejudices and preconceptions - unconscious bias that can come to the surface in many situations.

What is very important to me is maintaining a sense of urgency and not putting off until tomorrow, what you can do today. This can result in me judging someone based on their speed to act and speed to deliver. There was recently a situation when I was in Korea and a young man was presenting to me. He was a bit slow as he struggled to converse in English, which was obviously not his first language. My unconscious bias would have influenced me to express my chronic impatience at his speed, making him feel terrible and unincluded. Instead, I recognised my unconscious bias and chose to be empathetic and encouraging, motivating him to complete his presentation.

All of us have a role to play in ensuring we keep our unconscious biases in check to help tackle the real issues we face in terms of lack of inclusivity by key groups in our workplaces.

Take gender equality. Unconscious bias potentially can manifest itself in hiring, recruitment and selection processes. And the potential impact on women can be profound. They may feel under-valued, their morale and confidence may suffer, it may lead to mistrust and eventually may affect their performance at work, with some skilled women even considering leaving the organization. As a result of unconscious bias, women may often feel discouraged, stopping themselves from advancing into leadership positions and pursuing illustrious careers.

Being self-aware about the potential for our unconscious biases to influence our decision making is so important in everything we do, including gender equality. So, how can we tackle our own unconscious biases and those of others to promote diversity in the candidate pool - so that background has no impact when hiring top talent and that, everyone, irrespective of gender has access to the same career opportunities?

• Check in daily on your unconscious biases – especially in pressurized situations when tough decisions need to be made quickly. Be vigilant about what lies beneath the surface at all times
• Call out others for theirs – unconscious bias mostly goes unnoticed by the person exhibiting it. Make the person aware of this if you believe you see it.
• Embrace AI to help – At IBM, AI tools such as IBM Watson Candidate Assistant and IBM Watson Career Coach are trained with unbiased data, providing skills-focused career-matching and bias-free career growth that empowers employees. The result is the knowledge that the chosen candidate was the one best suited for the role, free of bias. This helps business achieve a stronger and more diverse workforce.

As a part of IBM’s Be Equal initiative and in-line with IBM’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, I pledge to Be Cognizant and recognise and correct unconscious bias and I also pledge to Be Inclusive and ensure all my colleagues feel heard and validated. And I urge you all to take the pledge too and act on it.

I would love to hear more on your experiences with unconscious bias and any advice you may have on how we can recognize, correct, and overcome it for ourselves – personally and professionally.