Unconscious Gender Bias

by Alison Heyerdahl

Unconscious gender bias remains one of the most significant barriers to women's career advancement - the glass ceiling, if you will.  It is difficult to address because it is so difficult to identify. 

Although women in the United States are better off than they’ve ever been, they are still considerably underrepresented in the corporate and political arenas.  An examination of the corporate ladder shows the number of women diminishes with increasing hierarchy. To put this in perspective: out of 195 countries, only 17 are led by women, and only 22% of women hold parliamentary seats globally.  Furthermore, despite the fact that more women graduate with college degrees, only 23% of S&P 500 companies have female CEOs.

Although many companies have established family-friendly policies, more needs to be done to facilitate the advancement of highly-skilled women to leadership positions.  This article intends to explore how gender bias impedes women’s career advancement and how it can be mitigated.     

What is unconscious gender bias?

Unconscious gender bias stems from the unintentional mental associations about gender that emerge from traditions, culture, norms, and/or experience.  These mental associations ultimately influence decision-making and enable the quick assessment of an individual based on stereotypical features.  Gender bias remains unconscious and pervasive because it is not brought to awareness.  Organizations, therefore, need to implement policies to bring it out into the open. 

Gender bias in company structure

In recent years women have made significant strides forward in the workplace.  Women now share sectors that were once exclusively the domain of men.  Despite this progress, women are still sometimes held back by company structure and practices.  By way of example:

• Positions that require typical masculine characteristics, i.e., those of leadership, tend to be biased toward men.  According to McKinsey, these positions often require a candidate to be constantly available and able to travel, which penalizes women with children.

• It has been found that women have less opportunity to participate in leadership development programs.  These programs are offered to senior leaders or employees thought to have high potential.  However, women in senior management positions report far less interaction with company leaders than men.

• Workplace norms hinder women’s advancement.  When senior leadership positions are held exclusively by men, it perpetuates the “think-manager-think-male” perspective.  In this way, women are often side-lined when executive positions become available.

• American workplaces rarely offer flexibility for maternity leave or childcare.

It is clear that unconscious gender bias is still pervasive in corporate America, and a great deal of work needs to be done to advance women's career development. 

How can organizations mitigate gender bias in the workplace?

Although gender equality is a moral and a business imperative, and many companies have policies in place to mitigate bias, de-biasing people's minds have proven to be difficult and expensive.  Diversity training programs have limited success, and individual effort alone often results in backlash.  De-biasing organizations instead of individuals is the only possible way forward.  The following methods have been proven for reducing unconscious bias in the workplace:

• Identify those company practices that are prone to bias. Analyzing data often reveals patterns that would otherwise not have been noticed.  For example, some organizations may notice that there is disproportionate attrition among women at certain levels.  This may also be the case with the recruitment or interview phases.  One may also notice differences in remuneration or average performance ratings between men and women.  This data is beneficial in identifying those areas where bias may be present.

• Standardize and formalize all processes. This helps ensure that subjectivity and emotion are removed from people processes.  Organizations should ensure that all processes are as objective as possible and use pre-determined, standardized criteria.  For example, all interviews should be structured, meaning that the same questions are asked of all candidates, with no time allocated for small talk. In this way, everybody is fairly evaluated, based on merit alone.

• Ensure that all decision-making is transparent. An effective way to remove bias is to require that all people decisions are justified with evidence and explained to others - whether it's hiring, promotions, or performance management.  Checklists can aid this process and ensure that all processes are transparent.  For example, task-based assessments are an effective way of assessing someone's capability and can serve as evidence that they are ready for promotion. A personal endorsement, on the other hand, should not qualify as evidence.

Conclusion

Women face many obstacles to career advancement, including unconscious gender bias and gender-based discrimination.  While women may not be able to change these workplace dynamics, it is important to be aware of what may be at play. The three aforementioned principles, according to the evidence, while not comprehensive, when implemented, have substantially leveled the playing field for women in organizations.  Furthermore, when bias is removed from decision-making, we make better decisions.  When candidates are assessed on ability rather than how well-liked they are, better candidates are chosen.  When all talent is considered for positions of leadership, better leadership emerges.

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