Unconscious bias in the workplace

وفقاً لمجلة "فوربس" الأمريكية (Forbes)، يعالج الدماغ البشري لا شعورياً نحو 11 مليون جزء من المعلومات في الثانية، بينما يعالج فقط 40 جزء بشكل واعي. وفي ظل هذا العدد الكبير من القرارات التي تتم معالجتها والوصول إليها بشكل لا شعوري، فمن الأهمية بمكان أن تدرك الشركات والمؤسسات المخاطر المترتبة على ذلك في أنشطتها اليومية، وأن تسعى إلى توعية موظفيها لمساعدتهم على التخلص من تحيّزاتهم الضمنية من أجل تعزيز بيئات عمل تتسم بالشمولية والاحترافية والتنوع.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious bias or implicit bias, as it is also known, refers to the mental association that is made between traits and different social groups such as race, gender, or disability, and are prejudices that are made without conscious awareness. These automatic preferences or stereotypes mainly contribute to the lack of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. In 1998, a team of social psychologists from Yale and Washington University conducted a landmark study looking for the facts behind people's biases. They measured the root cause of their biases. The study concluded that biases exist in 90-95% humans. 

لسوء الحظ، أصبح التحيّز اللاواعي حقيقة شائعة في حياتنا، وأشارت شركة " ماكنزي آند كومباني" الأمريكية (McKinsey & Company) إلى تحيّز الذكاء الاصطناعي أيضاً، والذي يمكن تعريفه على أنه حالة انحراف في نتائج خوارزميات التعلّم الآلي يحدث بسبب وجود فرضيات مُتحيّزة أثناء عملية تطوير الخوارزمية، وتمثل انعكاساً لعنصرية المجتمع وتحيّزه ضد فئة معينة، أو قد يكون نتيجة تحيّز في بيانات التدريب التي يتم تغذية نظام الذكاء الاصطناعي بها.

Our background, life experiences, and cultural values influence our decisions, and over time the human brain has developed the ability to use these experiences to create shortcuts that allow us to navigate through the vast amount of information we are exposed to on a daily basis. This cognitive ability can be very useful, but it often leads to quick decisions that can often be wrong. In a work context, this can have a negative impact on hiring decisions, hinder employee development, impair diversity and increase the rate of loss of employees and workers in companies and organizations.

Types of unconscious bias

Unconscious biases are usually beyond our awareness and can inadvertently influence who is selected for job interviews, how interviews are conducted, who is hired and the reasons for hiring. The first step in combating unconscious biases is to become aware of their different types in order to recognize these attitudes and how they are expressed in our behaviour.

• Gender bias

Gender bias is simply a preference for one gender over the other. This often results from our deeply rooted beliefs about gender roles and stereotypes.

• Familiarity bias (Affinity bias)

Affinity bias refers to the unconscious preference for people who are similar to us, whether that be in looks, traits, or beliefs, as we are more inclined to work and talk to those who are compatible with us.

• Halo effect

يحدث تأثير الهالة عندما نركز على ميزة رائعة خاصة عند الشخص، مما يجعلنا نشاهد كل شيء عن الشخص في ضوء هذه "الهالة"، ويجعلنا نعتقد أنه أكثر مثالية مما هو عليه.

• Horns effect

The horn effect is the opposite of the halo effect, where we focus on a particularly negative feature about a person, which changes our view of their other qualities.

• Beauty bias

It is a social behavior that often negatively affects women in the workplace. For example, attractive women are seen as less competent than their male counterparts.

• Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias refers to the way people primarily look for pieces of evidence that support their opinions, rather than looking at the whole picture. 

The effects of unconscious bias in the workplace

It is widely recognized that diversity of ideas and innovation are essential to achieving bottom line results and increasing productivity in the workplace, but our implicit preferences for people who look like us still challenge our ability to create these conditions.

 Biases can influence every interaction we do, from the language used in job descriptions and decisions about who to hire or promote, to officials ignoring the poor performance of employees they know and love.

خلال عملية التوظيف، يمكن أن تؤدي التحيّزات إلى إصدار التعميمات التي تحدّد المرشح المناسب للوظيفة بناءً على الأصل المُتصور لاسمه أو جنسيته بدلاً من مهاراته. كشفت إحدى الدراسات التي أجرتها شركة "راكونتير" (Raconteur) أن نحو 24% من طالبي العمل من أصل بريطاني تلقوا ردوداً إيجابية من أصحاب العمل، مقارنة بـ 15% فقط من المتقدمين من الأقليات العرقية ممن لديهم سير ذاتية تطابق تماماً السير الذاتية لطالبي العمل من أصل بريطاني. تنتشر أيضاً التحيّزات القائمة على الجنس في العديد من الأدوار الوظيفية التي تجذب أحد الجنسين أكثر من الآخر، على سبيل المثال من يعمل في مجال التمريض يجب أن يكون امرأة، وأن من يعمل في مجال الهندسة يجب أن يكون رجلاً.  قد تؤثر القوالب النمطية التقليدية على خيارات الرجال والنساء في مجال العمل، ولكن يتعيّن على المديرين الإعلان عن الصفات والخصائص المطلوبة للوظائف واختيار المرشحين وفقاً لذلك، وإدراك مدى سهولة ظهور التحيّزات بين الجنسين.

In some severe cases, strong bias of any kind can lead to workplace bullying, unlawful harassment or discrimination, putting companies at risk of reputational damage as well as financial costs as abuses and problems worsen.

Countering unconscious bias and promoting a culture of diversity

Implicit biases are not easy to address because they are unconscious in nature and can be difficult to recognize and accept. However, a culture of respect for others must be fostered to encourage the freedom to express diverse ideas that lead to greater creativity and innovation, and this is very important in a work context.

Countering unconscious bias and promoting a culture of diversity

Implicit biases are not easy to address because they are unconscious in nature and can be difficult to recognize and accept. However, a culture of respect for others must be fostered to encourage the freedom to express diverse ideas that lead to greater creativity and innovation, and this is very important in a work context.  To counter unconscious bias in the workplace, the following should be considered;

Inform and educate employees about the types of unconscious bias and negative consequences that can arise from allowing such behavior to become normal;

Employees should monitor each other for their own unconscious biases and reconsider comments or observations about cultural or gender stereotypes;

Revisit the rationale behind the initial decision to determine whether all facts have been considered or whether biases are the driving factor in concealment;

Deliberate in the decision-making process to reduce the possibility of making a quick decision; And

-Establish a diversity and inclusion committee to establish and maintain operations and enforce cultural behaviors consistent with the company's diversity goals.

قالت لاسانا هاريس، عالمة أعصاب تدرس التحيّز والتعلّم الاجتماعي في كلية لندن الجامعية (UCL)، إن مفهوم التحيّز اللاواعي ليس عذراً يعفي الناس من السلوك التمييزي، ولكن "إذا كنت على دراية بهذه التحيّزات، يمكنك توظيف ذكائك وجميع مهاراتك الضرورية لترى أنه من الخطأ التفكير بهذه الطريقة".

Preventing unconscious bias in the workplace is critical and should not be overlooked, as it can lead to unfair and inaccurate judgments, talents overlooked, or at worst discrimination.