How to Tackle Unconscious Bias and Build an Inclusive Workplace

Unconscious bias is a fascinating topic unlocking how our so-called “gut feelings” often guide business and personnel decisions that can go wrong. But people refuse to believe that their gut feeling led them to make incorrect or misguided decisions. Unconscious bias is sneaky. No matter how much we try to avoid it, it finds its way into our thoughts and behavior, influencing most of our decisions. According to Forbes, our brain consciously processes 40 pieces of information per second. To keep up with the ample amount of data our brain sees, it creates shortcuts that seemingly make decision-making easy, although it is not desirable and does more harm than good.

A Harvard Business Review study on gender bias revealed that although men and women behave the same in a workplace and are indistinguishable, they are looked at differently. Whether they are high performing or equally performing in all scenarios or are conducting meetings, collaborating etc., their efforts are perceived differently and rewarded inequitably, leading to unfair outcomes at work.

As leaders, we must keep unconscious biases in check as it will help create a fairer and more inclusive workplace. It is an extraordinary burden for people tasked with hiring, maintaining and upskilling employees; however, it can also be a privilege. Time and effort taken to see the potential in all people is a gift that can transform workplaces, families, communities and society.

Maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment is critical to building high-performance teams, as it encompasses a range of human differences and similarities. While equity takes care of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, inclusion unlocks the power of diversity; not only does it include having an equitable and unconscious bias-free structure and process, considers every behavior aspect of an inclusive mindset.

What is Unconscious Bias?

Unconscious bias is the human tendency to form opinions and base decisions without having any relevant information. It may be a common topic among HR leaders though you cannot assume everyone to be on the same page as everyone has their own experiences and is entitled to their belief system, gender, race and other factors. Different industries, company structures and locations play a huge role in deciding how unconscious bias affects decisions.

Impact of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace

Unconscious bias typically results in undesirable outcomes as employees who experience prejudice actively disengage and reduce contributions. Research has revealed that around 33% of those who report workplace bias feel alienated, and 34% withhold their ideas and solutions from the organization. A troubling 80% of them would not refer others to their employer.

Unconscious bias has adverse effects on the organization and its employees

Feelings of isolation, alienation and withholding take a toll on the person, as a result, stress hormones build in our systems resulting in:

• Low or no emotional engagement.
• Increased stress-related illness.
• Increased accidents and absenteeism in the workplace.
• Above average employee turnover.
• Lower client satisfaction and higher customer “turn.”

By becoming more aware of our thought processes and decision-making, we can identify areas of unconscious bias.

What are the types of unconscious bias?

When you know and understand what types of common biases exist, it’s easier to avoid unintentionally offending, hurting or excluding others.

Some of the biases in the workplace are-

1. Gender bias

Gender bias occurs when a person has typical stereotypical beliefs solely based on their gender identity and treats them differently. For example, in an office, an assertive woman might be described as “aggressive” and a man with the same attributes as “confident.”

2. Affinity bias

Affinity is a tendency to favour people with similar qualities and attributes. A 2017 study on hiring practices by the University of Toronto found that candidates with foreign-sounding names were 28% less likely to be called into an interview than candidates with white-sounding names. ” Despite their best intentions, hiring managers may be guilty of being influenced by similar biases that preclude them from interviewing a more diverse set of candidates.

3. Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias, as the American Psychological Association defines it, is “The tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by highlighting or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.”

It’s the unfair treatment of people in the workplace based on an unfounded belief leading to employees feeling nervous to ask for help.

4. The halo effect and the horn effect

The halo effect occurs when an employer favours a single factor or attribute they perceive as positive, overshadowing all other factors.

The horns effect occurs when a factor is perceived as negative, influencing their decision-making negatively.

5. Beauty bias

Beauty bias occurs when we lean towards people, we deem more attractive when compared to others. A conventionally attractive employee might receive more interest and investment from leaders than someone they perceive as unattractive.

6. Conformity bias

Conformity bias occurs due to the tendency to be influenced by and conforms to the majority. If four out of five people on an interview panel have similar backgrounds, the final panelist may go along with the majority rather than contest an issue. A more diverse panel can empower minority panellists to raise concerns, which prevents the majority perspective from becoming dominant by default.

How to Tackle Unconscious Bias?

Because of its deep-rooted nature, bias is hard to define, teach or change. Training needs to be incorporated to apply anti-bias principles and actions in the workplace. Recently, there has been a dire need for unconscious bias education as there is an increase in racist incidents at the workplace, leaving employees feeling excluded.

Here are some ways you can tackle unconscious bias in the workplace-

1. Provide unconscious bias training to the employees

Training and awareness can help overcome our personal unconscious biases. The goal of the UB training is to raise awareness of the mental shortcuts our brain resorts to, leading to snap judgements based on race or gender about others’ talents or character. The aim is to reduce bias in attitude and behavior at work, from hiring and promotion decisions to interactions with customers and colleagues.

While the training may help to an extent, it’s not enough to eliminate the problem, but it is the first step towards it.

2. Taking a comprehensive approach towards diversity and inclusion

One of the most effective ways companies can hope to reduce or eliminate bias is by taking a more comprehensive approach to diversity and inclusion. Two significant types of inclusion need to be incorporated-

• Structural inclusion

Make long-term structural changes rather than resorting to tactical short-term D&I wins. Offer transparent access to opportunities, connections, mentors and more across your organization.

• Behavioral inclusion

It aims to reveal biases and blind spots to act differently upon our attitudes and decisions.

3. Revising the hiring process

Unknowingly, at times, unconscious biases can adversely affect hiring decisions. For example, studies show that the wording in job descriptions can discourage women from applying for certain positions. Rework job descriptions to be more inclusive, so you can draw from a wider pool of applicants. Regularize the interview process, as unstructured interviews lead to bad hiring decisions.

4. Making data-informed decisions

Make it a priority to diversify your management team so that more voices and backgrounds are made significant. Measuring progress towards the goals of having a successful diversity, equity, and inclusion program can help inform strategies for bringing your DE&I program to life.

5. Holding employees accountable

When employees show discriminatory behavior, appropriate actions are to be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the employees affected. Involving HR is the perfect first move and should include documenting the incident and following workplace policies for addressing discrimination.

Final comments

Constantly shift your paradigm. Committing will drastically improve your business as you consciously examine your behavior while helping others do the same. Yes, it is a socially responsible thing to do. But it is also fiscally responsible. So, take a step back and re-evaluate how bias impacts your life, department, or organization.