Black women comprise fewer than 14% of managers, hold less than 10% of senior management positions and less than 5% of executive roles at Fortune 500 companies, according to a 2022 study by McKinsey and LeanIn.org.

How did we come to this great unbalance?

I believe unconscious biases are one of the most significant factors inhibiting our ability to create diverse teams. Unconscious biases are attitudes and stereotypes accumulated throughout life that can influence our decision making, particularly when something must be decided quickly. These biases often lead to inaccurate assessments based on faulty rationale. Let me be clear, this is not a Whites only problem, I have plenty of my own that I’m ashamed to admit. Biases run the gamut from race to age to size. There are so many, I can’t name them all here.

For example, as soon as I see tattoos on a neck or knuckles, I automatically think ‘gang-related, Neo-Nazi, low financial status, low intelligence.’ This is informed by watching movies over the years. I don’t actually know many individuals personally with these types of tattoos. (For the record, I’m working on this one.) I’ve often heard the line, ‘You’re so White for a Black guy’ because of the way I speak. Their bias is also is informed by all of the Black guys they know being from television that speak with a certain vernacular and have a set of expected behaviors and roles. Because I don’t fit the media image for Black men that they have come to believe as true, their brain is trying to recategorize me.

Unchecked, unconscious bias can result in a narrow pool of candidates being hired and promoted, as well as limited creativity, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Unconscious bias can also affect collaboration between employees and prevent innovation and productivity. 

Here are a few examples of common biases:

Affinity Bias

Affinity bias leads us to favor people who we feel we have a connection or similarity to. For example, attending the same boat club, growing up in the same town, or reminding us of someone we know and like. This can have a big impact during recruitment.

For instance, if a job candidate we have an affinity with tells us they’re a little nervous, we may smile more or offer more words of encouragement to try and set them at ease. Whereas, if a person we shared no affinity with told us the same thing, we wouldn’t behave quite as warmly towards them. After the interview, the first candidate would seem to be a better fit than the second candidate.

Halo Effect

The Halo Effect occurs when we perceive one great thing about a person and let that halo glow of that one thing color our opinions of everything else about that person.

For example, if we notice that someone went to a highly regarded college or that someone had received a prestigious award, we tend to let this achievement influence how we see everything else about that person.

Horns Effect

The Horns Effect is the direct opposite of the Halo effect and occurs when perception of someone is unduly influenced by one perceived negative trait.

For example, if we do not like the way someone dresses, we might assume they are also lazy and unprofessional, even though professionalism and competence are not related to attire.

Attribution Bias

Attribution bias affects how we assess other people and their achievements. It can be particularly impactful during recruitment.

When assessing ourselves, we tend to think our achievements are direct results of our merit and personality; while our failings are the result of external factors, including other people that adversely affected us and prevented us from doing our best.

When it comes to assessing other people, however, we often think the opposite is true. We are more likely to consider the achievements of others as a result of chance; and their failings as a result of their personality or behavior.

I remember when I had an undefeated season as a soccer coach and our university qualified for the National tournament for the first time ever. I thought I would win National Coach of the Year in Canada because that had been a pattern. I was surprised. Not only did I not win, I wasn’t even nominated. I came to find out that everyone attributed my success to having one great player (who hadn’t even played in a third of the games because I had released him to attend his engineering commitments). My coaching peers dismissed my accomplishments as luck instead of hard work and ingenuity. I know in my heart that was the hardest and most innovative year of my coaching. What made it particularly frustrating for me, is that in the very next year, the undefeated coach was once again awarded National Coach of the Year. 

Being aware of these various biases can help you counter their influence over you and aid in more sound decision making during hiring and promotion. The first step in combating these subconscious influencers is to be aware of various types of bias recognizing these attitudes and how they are expressed in our behavior. 

Thanks for coming along on my journey.