Unconscious bias: The human tendency to form opinions about others without having enough relevant information. Bias can stem from stereotypes, preconceived notions, past experiences, or gut instinct.

Unconscious bias is a stealthy phenomenon; it creeps in unknowingly but can have significant impacts on work culture, employee retention and crucial aspects of employee development and progression alike. “Unconscious bias occurs when someone who does not know you makes assumptions about your character, intelligence or capabilities based on how you look, speak or behave. This person does so not even knowing that he or she is thinking or reacting this way.” This is a striking finding in an article by the Society for Human Resource Management titled “Putting Humanity into HR Compliance: Become Aware of Unconscious Bias”. Needless to say then, unconscious bias exists everywhere; not just in the workplace. But knowing how to identify it and the forms in which it exists can be a useful departure point in combating it.

The 8 types of unconscious bias, that exist in many organisations, to be aware of:

• Gender bias
  • The tendency to provide preferential treatment toward one gender over another, or to have prejudice against a certain gender.
• Ageism
  • Discrimination against older people because of negative and inaccurate stereotypes.
• Beauty bias
  • Refers to those who are given preferential treatment because they are deemed more attractive, whether consciously or unintentionally.
• The halo effect
  • The halo effect occurs when our positive impressions of people, brands, and products in one area lead us to have positive feelings in another area. This cognitive bias leads us to often cast judgment without having a substantiated or valid reason.
• The horns effect
  • The Horn effect is a type of cognitive bias that happens when you make a snap judgment about someone on the basis of one negative trait.
• Confirmation bias
  • The tendency to search for, interpret, favour and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.
• Conformity bias
  • The tendency to change one's beliefs or behaviour to fit in with others.
• Affinity bias
  • Also referred to as similarity bias, is the unconscious human tendency to gravitate toward other people with similar backgrounds, interests, and beliefs.

These biases are, by nature, deeply ingrained in our thought processes and are often influenced by factors such as cultural background, personal experiences, societal norms, and exposure to mainstream media. Unconscious biases can have a major impact on many areas of our daily lives including social interactions, hiring decisions and educational settings to name a few. They may lead individuals, especially in leadership, to make decisions that are not based on objective merit but rather on preconceived notions and stereotypes.

Addressing unconscious bias is crucial for promoting fairness, diversity, and inclusion within organisations. It involves raising awareness, providing education and training, and implementing policies and practices that encourage objectivity and equal opportunities. According to Harvard Business Review, unconscious bias education and training has increased significantly in recent years because of a “public outcry over racist incidents in the workplace and mounting evidence of the cost of employees’ feeling excluded.”

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The goal is to create workforces that are more inclusive, and thereby more innovative and more effective. Well-managed diverse groups outperform homogeneous ones and are more committed, have higher collective intelligence, and are better at making decisions and solving problems.

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Biases are hard to eliminate; and the best approach could exist in interrupting biases. Understanding how biases play out in the workplace and being able to recognise when and where biases exist are the two key factors to identify in order to mitigate biases in the workplace. Harvard Business Review suggests a detailed plan in How the Best Bosses Interrupt Bias on Their Teams which elaborates on ways that leaders can become effective “bias interruptors”. HBR suggest four simple actions that will yield the best candidates by eliminating artificial advantages:

1. Insist on a diverse pool.

Research shows that the odds of hiring a woman are 79 times as great if at least two women are in the finalist pool, while the odds of hiring a nonwhite candidate are 194 times as great with at least two finalist minority applicants.

2. Establish objective criteria, define “culture fit,” and demand accountability.

Research shows that objective rules tend to be applied rigorously to out-groups but leniently to in-groups.

3. Limit referral hiring.

If your organisation is homogeneous, hiring from within or from employees’ social networks will only perpetuate that. So reach out to women and minority groups.

4. Structure interviews with skills-based questions.

Ask every person interviewed the same questions and make sure that each question directly relates to the desired knowledge and skills you’ve outlined.

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