By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
Everyone is subject to bias – we all have them, and we are all affected by them. Our task in the 21st century is to acknowledge our implicit assumptions about others (and ourselves) and examine how they may be holding others back (or propelling others forward).
In the corporate setting, people in the majority group can gloss over how their biases may be keeping people in non-dominant groups from advancing. A new white paper [PDF] by consulting group Cook Ross takes a look at the biases that keep women from getting promotions during the review process. The report author, Leslie Traub, Chief Consulting Officer at Cook Ross, writes that, at the entry level, the workforce at many companies approach gender parity. But over time, that diversity thins out.
One reason why is that bias during the review process affects whether women are recognized, valued, and, ultimately, promoted or retained. The report says, “Performance reviews that do not objectively reflect employee contributions are one of the main obstacles to retaining under-represented groups. When the performance review process is out of balance, opportunities for advancement narrow and in turn, narrow an organization’s diversity pipeline.”
Cook writes that reducing bias is everyone’s responsibility. “A shared recognition that bias exists in every decision and a collective and personal commitment to its reduction are the only antidotes to unchecked bias hijacking all of our critical decisions,” she says.
The benefits of mitigating bias will result a more diverse, competitive workforce. Here are four types of bias that keep women and other minority groups in the workforce from advancing. Once we recognize the barriers that keep women from getting ahead, we can begin dismantling them.