4 Steps to Tackle Unconscious Bias

Unconscious biases are social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness.

Research tells us that human beings have natural tendencies to place individuals into social categories. These categories are often based on social cues such as gender, cultural background, age, height or body size.

Here are 4 Steps to Tackle Unconscious Bias:

Practice Blind Hiring: Blind hiring is a recruitment tool for eliminating biases while recruitment. Here the personal details of the candidates, their gender, cultural background, age, height, and ethnicity are blackout and they are selected on the basis of their expertise, skills, and experiences. This hiring practice not only helps an organization to eliminate unconscious biases but also helps in promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Understand your own biases: Understand your own biases. Even though you are a rational thinker and take conscious decisions while recruiting, you can too fall in the unconscious loop. The unconscious brain uses associations based on social categories to develop biases. You need to be honest and aware of your own biases and have a systematic approach to find a solution.

Fight the First Impression: Studies have proved that you form your first impression of a person in the first 100 milliseconds. This proves that even before you have conscious thoughts about a person you are meeting, you create your unconscious judgement. And the damage is done even before the blink of your eyes. Most of us are not even aware of it. Recruiting managers too fall under this trap and often end up making a decision that eventually impacts the organization.

Define Your Inner Focus: Once you become aware of your own bias, then you can reduce the bias by taking counteractions. This practice will train your inner focus and gradually give you greater perspectives and redefine your assumptions and perceptions. And also surround yourself with positive words and images.

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