It might sound pessimistic to say that bias-free business is unattainable, but I believe there’s a valuable opportunity in acknowledging this truth. By accepting that bias is inherent, we can begin to better understand and address it.
What Would a Bias-Free World Look Like?
Imagine walking into a restaurant without a menu—being served whatever the kitchen decides and paying the set price. Or visiting a car dealership, leaving with whatever model the salesperson hands you. Picture going to an ice cream parlor and receiving a random flavor without a choice, or graduating from school only to be placed in whichever job is available at the time.
In a bias-free world, much of what makes us individuals—our preferences, choices, and interests—would be stripped away. Bias, at its core, is about the choices we make based on what we enjoy or find familiar and comforting. It’s intrinsic to human nature, and something we must become comfortable acknowledging rather than denying.
When personal bias can play out?
Bias becomes problematic when it moves from personal preferences to creating inequality. This occurs when we let our preferences influence judgments about others—decisions that can affect someone’s potential suitability for a job, a supplier relationship, or even a customer interaction.
Take, for instance, a hiring situation where you share a conversation about sports with a candidate who supports the same team as you. This shared interest, although unrelated to the job, might lead to positive feelings that affect your judgment. You might favor this candidate over someone more qualified because they reinforce something you value. This kind of bias can manifest across various factors, such as gender, race, ethnicity, and disability.
Let’s say someone prefers to work with colleagues who attended the same university as they did because they feel an instant connection. This is a personal bias—rooted in familiarity and comfort. It’s a preference that could affect their judgment when hiring, but it’s largely about personal experience.
In the workplace, unchecked bias leads to a lack of diversity and perpetuates the preference for a specific “type” of leader. It can foster groupthink and create homogenous teams, which ultimately undermine performance compared to more diverse organizations.
Bias at an institutional level
We have heard debates in recent times of how bias can be held at an institutional level. For example an organisational can be said to be institutionally racist, but what do we mean by that?
Organisations have hiring practices that consistently favour candidates or leaders from certain prestigious universities over others or from certain racial groups. These institutions may have legacy admissions or historical connections to wealth and privilege, creating barriers for qualified individuals from underrepresented groups.
Over time this leads to processes, policies and ways of working that favour the ‘preferred’ employee over individuals from more diverse backgrounds. In this case, it’s not just about an individual’s preference—it’s about a structural bias that limits opportunities for certain groups, reinforcing inequalities across entire industries.
The subtle ways that bias might play out
Implicit Bias can arise across many aspects of business and like it says, the signs and impact are at a subtle level that can be difficult to spot.
For example a recruiter may unconsciously favour candidates who have a similar communication style, body language, or accent to their own. They might not even realise they’re doing it, but they may feel that these candidates seem “more professional” or a “better cultural fit.” This subtle form of bias can lead to hiring people who look, act, or speak like the existing team, limiting diversity without anyone being fully aware of it.
Another way we see bias emerge is when we are conducting performance evaluations and review. A manager might unconsciously give higher ratings to employees who remind them of their younger selves or those who come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. They might attribute leadership qualities to one group of people based on stereotypes or downplay the achievements of others without realizing that these judgments are influenced by preconceived notions tied to gender, race, or other factors.
How Can We Promote Bias Awareness?
If a bias-free world is an idealistic fantasy, then raising bias awareness is a practical and attainable goal. Bias surfaces most visibly at key decision points in business, such as:
- Hiring new employees
- Selecting candidates for promotion or succession
- Identifying talent for fast-track opportunities
At these decision points, we can choose the “tried and tested” path—often leading to a lack of diversity—or we can actively seek to broaden our pool of candidates and challenge the status quo.
Here are some questions to consider to raise your bias awareness:
- Do I have a mental image of who is the “right” person for this role or opportunity? Is this based on past experiences or on what’s truly needed?
- Have we cast the widest net to attract diverse talent, or are we relying on familiar channels?
- Is our selection panel diverse enough to offer varied perspectives beyond what I know?
- Are there biases in our selection process that need to be addressed?
- Am I the best person to be part of this process, or could someone from a different racial, gender, or disability perspective bring greater insight?
Bias Awareness Is a Lifelong Process
By regularly asking these questions, you’ll begin to see how bias influences various aspects of your life. Consider, for example, the books you read and the media you consume—are they consistently created by the same types of people? Look at your circle of friends—do they share similar identities or backgrounds? And how do your political views form? Are they based on old assumptions, or on a nuanced understanding of current events?
Like a muscle, bias awareness strengthens with practice. While it may not always lead to changes in your immediate decisions, it can help you understand how your choices shape your views and relationships with others.
In Summary
We cannot live in a bias-free world. Bias is part of human nature and individual choice. However, we can cultivate bias awareness to help us recognize and address the inequalities or barriers we may unconsciously create in our personal and professional lives.
Whilst we cannot singlehandedly take on structural bias, for example at an institutional level, we can look to address it by bringing in processes that limit bias such as anonymised resumé assessments or greater training and discussion on how bias might be affecting decisions.
By reflecting on the questions raised here, we can begin to see how bias affects not just business decisions, but the broader ways we live our lives. In doing so, we can play an active role in promoting equality and improving equity both in business and in society.
If you would like more ideas of how to address and minimise bias in your workplace, download a free chapter of the best-selling The Inclusion Edge, email Mary@agents2change.com and we’ll send it over.