This year’s International Women’s Day was aptly themed Break the Bias. A bias can be an unconscious, unfair and often an unreasoned preference or judgment towards a specific segment of people that might be skewed due to a past experience, personal upbringing and cultural conditioning.
Although scientists have identified up to 150 different biases, I will focus on some of the workplace biases, especially those with a continual impact on gender roles.
At this juncture and before I proceed, it must be noted that women in this country have broken many “glass ceilings.” We are fortunate that we live in a society where females have held the highest offices, can access medical care and all levels of education; have access to scholarships and other institutions. Indeed, for several years we have seen women dominating in academics and filling positions in industries socially viewed as "male-dominated" fields.
However, we know that we are still not a perfect society and in every workplace, employees enter with their own beliefs and what they consider socially acceptable norms that create an undercurrent of biases. These lead to organisational norms and accepted corporate culture which would form part of its operation.
Remember the Drucker quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
As an example of one bias, imagine in this 21st century, I know some businesses that refuse to consider applications from female candidates for certain executive positions, at a time when so many women are filling traditional male functions.
I remember once where when top-level positions were mainly held by persons of a particular skin colour and classism and chauvinism were a societal norm.
Women usually adopt the role of caregiver in the home and as such may require more time off. They may have to postpone opportunities for advancement and social outings that will afford them networking opportunities. However, less time in the office does not necessarily equate to a lower level of productive contribution.
The pandemic has highlighted just how uneven the situation is for women, who have to bear the greater responsibility with children at home, ensuring online schooling and care needs are met. Many workplaces have tried to support workers in this situation by allowing work from home. However, the expectation of caregiving responsibilities among women is a societal bias by itself.
Studies have shown that the traits used to describe successful leaders are stereotypical male behaviours that should be dominant, ambitious, aggressive and rational. It is also shown that performance or succession management processes are built on other male stereotypical traits.
Managers often rely on “fit” characteristics that are familiar to them when selecting candidates and would hire who they like and reject the unfamiliar. While most HR professionals are females, they are usually not the final decision-makers for high-level positions. Those who therefore consider the above “fit” qualifiers are those males in higher executive positions.
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