5 Steps to Building a Company Culture that Minimizes Unconscious Gender Bias

Unconscious gender bias is a problem for companies.  Today, unconscious gender bias is pervasive and embedded in the systems, structures and cultures of our organizations.  Researchers call this “second generation” gender bias, and it operates unseen, beneath the consciousness of both men and women.  This bias creates the glass ceiling, the mysterious barrier that denies women access to top levels of management, and costs companies millions of dollars in unwanted turnover, poor decision-making and reduced profits.  

Most biases of any type are unintentional.  Even good-hearted people have biases.  The human brain is wired to instantly identify situations or people as “safe” or “dangerous”.  This works well for us when we are walking down a deserted street after dark – we need to label things as safe or dangerous and take immediate, almost unconscious action - but it doesn’t serve us so well in the increasingly diverse workplace.  We are all victims of the cultural messages and upbringing of our society in which men and women have traditionally held separate and different roles.  Unfortunately, those messages manifest in unfair treatment of women and minorities and sometimes even men.  There is no shame or blame in talking about unconscious bias because we all suffer from some type of biased thinking.

---

.Here are five steps companies can take to address gender bias:

1.  Enlist the whole-hearted support of the CEO and executive team.

•  At eBay, then-CEO John Donahue explained in 2011 why the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) was so important to him.  He described the travails his wife had weathered over her 25-year professional career, and noted that it was harder for a woman than for a man.  “This is personal,” he declared.  It takes that kind of dedication from the top for inclusive programs to stick.
•  CEO and executives must model the new behaviors and actions and advocate for inclusion at every opportunity.
• Expect the initiative to take years; commit to the long haul. 
• If executive management isn’t behind this initiative, it probably won’t work well.

2.  Conduct a current situation assessment.

• Conduct exit interviews, especially of women and minorities, of employees who’ve left the company in the past 3 years.  Analyze results with the intent of discovering typical ways in which women are unconsciously excluded or held back.
• Survey and run focus groups of existing employees.
• Gather data on promotions, current percentages of women and minorities at all levels, salaries by gender at each level of the organization, what departments and managers are achieving greater gender parity.
• Identify those managers and their practices that have produced greater inclusion.
• Ensure that your corporate core values include ones that support inclusion, such as respect and open communication.

3.  Set goals for gender and minority inclusion at the top level of the organization and for hiring and promotion criteria at all ranks.

•  What gets measured gets done.
• Include the diversity measures in manager’s annual performance evaluation.
• Examine promotion criteria at all levels to make sure that bias is removed from the equation. This will become apparent after your current situation assessment, but typically manifest in men being promoted on potential while women are promoted on achievements. 
• Create a Diversity and Inclusion council that sets the tone and the standards for action.
• Set salary and promotion parity goals and deadlines.

4.  Mandate attendance at inclusive management training classes because evidence shows that education and heightened awareness leads to change. 

•  Assess each manager’s implicit bias using an instrument such as Harvard’s Project Implicit assessment (found at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/user/agg/blindspot/indexgc.htm).
• Increase awareness of words and actions that exclude women and minorities, such as not inviting them to important meetings, not assigning them difficult client accounts, assuming a mother won’t consider an overseas assignment, etc.  
• Train for leadership behaviors that are more typical and supportive of women, such as collaboration in decision-making, respectful communication, setting a vision for the future and mentoring team members.
• Create ongoing structures to enforce what was learned, such as text messages every day reminding managers to check-in with employees.

5.  Create ongoing practices that support inclusion.

• Ensuring that each upper level manager/executive sponsors 4-5 women high potential employees. 
• Create communication structures that ensure that employees explicitly identify their career aspirations.  
• Examine each promotion decision using inclusion guidelines.
• Implement flexible working arrangements, such as Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE),  that reduces the need for face-time in the office and increases focus on employee results.  This benefits both parents and non-parents alike.  

                    o Declare a communication blackout policy in which all employees are    restricted from emailing/testing/calling during certain hours of the week (i.e.: between  9:00 pm and 7:00 am) except in emergencies.

• Institute tactics that reduce penalties for taking family medical leaves, such as moving project-oriented communications from email, where they are lost to newcomers, to an online platform where communication threads are archived, making them visible and available to all.  

The benefits of a more inclusive workplace will benefit all employees, will reduce attrition of good employees and contribute to the financial success of your company!

---

Kristin Robertson, CEO of Brio Leadership, is dedicated to increasing the number of employees who are excited to go to work on Monday mornings.  Services include executive coaching, leadership development classes and company culture consulting.  Don’t forget to get a copy of Kristin Robertson’s new book, Your Company Culture Ecosystem, available on Amazon.