Be Aware of Unconscious Bias
Unconscious bias is a part of the workplace that unfortunately we cannot control to the extent that we would like to. It often manifests in the hiring and promotion process, but can be seen in many other aspects throughout your time in the workforce. Liani Reeves, an attorney at Bullard Law in Portland, Oregon says “in hiring decisions, people tend to gravitate towards those who are inside our own group. We automatically feel comfortable with people who think like us, act like us and look like us.” There is a subjective comfort when talked about in terms of ‘fit’ in a particular workplace culture.
When considered in promotions people also tend to think about those that are ‘leadership material.’ Unfortunately, unconscious bias is often based on assumptions about previous stereotypes of a traditional “leader” which is often thought to be typically older, Caucasian men. These biases are more than just a denial of employment opportunity. It leads people to believe, they could have been treated that way just because of the color of their skin, their gender, or their personal beliefs. What this can do is break down relationships, and possibly erode self-confidence.
What Can Be Done?
From the start, to minimize these impacts of biases you should be conscious of them. Know that people have them, maybe not you, but there are people in the workplace that will make decisions partly based of these prior unconscious stereotypes or biases. “It’s not a matter of eliminating all bias; it’s a matter of interrupting bias when it sneaks into our hiring and promotion practices and other actions” says Reeves. Camille Olson, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago, has recommended a three-pronged approach:
1. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who does not share your same demographics, associations, or group loyalties.
2. Refresh your supervisors’ and managers’ understanding of both equal employment opportunity policies, as well as the legitimate business reasons that should be considered.
3. Consider structural, company wide practices and policies that can be developed, implemented, trained and audited against in order to ensure that the workplace is free of biased decision-making.
Possible examples of part three include implementing hiring checklists, compensation audits, policy development and accessibility audits. Many executives are in favor of surfacing difficult topics and discussing them in safe environments, but just because you intend to create a safe space does not automatically mean you do. You should consider investing in diversity, equity and inclusion training. Unconscious biases might not be possible to completely eliminate from an individual’s thinking, but they should not affect employment-related decisions.
Here at Converge HR Solutions we can help implement policies to eliminate these biases as much as possible. Although the biases live inside your mind without you knowing we can try to bring them to the light and have you understand that they are there. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us at (610) 296-8550 or [email protected].
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