w8-Minimizing Workplace Gender and Racial Bias

Cognitive Foundations of Bias: Gender and Racial Stereotypes

Stereotypes in Institutional Context

Organizational Policy and Practice: Formali:z:ed Approaches to Minimizing Bias

The Limits of Formal Approaches: "EEO Accountability" is Key to Minimiting Bias

Concluding Thoughts

background

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gender gap salary 25%

white & Hispanic: 32%

unemployment

whites and African Americans:22%

bias that is created directly by the policies and practices of an employer

Everyone relies on stereotypes; habitual and unconscious

task is not to eliminate "stereotypical thinking, to minimize its impact on per- sonnel decisions

minimizing bias is especially difficult when the criteria for decision making are arbitrary and subjective

g, stereotyping and in- group bias effects are probably substantially larg- er in the "real world" than they are in the labo-ratory

male-dominated occupations can profoundly affect the working climate for women

personnel systems whose cri- teria for making decisions are arbitrary and sub- jective are highly vulnerable to bias

A high degree of segregation in such a system is usually a strong indicator that ascriptive traits are strongly influencing person- nel decision

found: 1970s: Some jobs were set aside for men and others for women, based on employers' stereotypical beliefs about traits thought to be unique to each gender

short, cognitive stereotypes may be nondelibera- tive, and institutional forces may make a person- nel system seem taken-for-granted by those who participate in it, but both personal and formal procedures can be and are manipulated by those in positions of privilege to preserve their advan- tag

gender and racial bias in the workplace is by no means inevitable, and the same research that reveals the social psychological and organiza- tional bases of career barriers also points the way toward policies that can effectively minimize bias.

can be minimized when judgments are based on timely and rele- vant information;

  1. a mechanism must be in place for potential candidates to make their interests and qualifications known to those making the selections.
  1. what constitutes job-relevant information should be established through a systematic job analysi
  1. substantive oversight of deci- sion making needs to be implemented, beyond simply "signing off" by a higher-level supervisor

that formalized polices per se are insufficient to reduce bias effectively

found: only identity-conscious structures were associated with reduced gender and racial dis- . . . parltles ln career

EEO regulations and laws contain considerable ambiguit

shows that the company's EEO efforts to advance minorities and women through the organization contain more symbol than sub- stance, with little impact on actual promotion policy or practice

3 parts of EEO accountability


🚩Final: to minimize workplace bias is what could be called "EEO accountability" or explicit, substantive account- abilit

1.implement as part of an organization's human resource information system the regular monitoring and analysis of patterns of segregation and differences by gender and race in pay and career advancement

  1. systematic analysis of feedback from employ- ees about perceptions of barriers to and opportu- nities for career advancement

USE periodic climate sur- veys or "360-degree feedback

  1. explicit evaluation of managers and supervi- sors on their contributions to an organization's EEO goals.

Affirmative Action Plan is the responsibility of every employee
However, such policies are merely symbolic unless they also delineate explicit duties and responsibilities relating to equal employment opportunity in each man- ager's or supervisor's job description

my recommendations are neither utopian nor radical.

mini' bias=can substantially rearrange power relations within organizations, and outside coercive pres- sure

affirmative action=has been understood by those who have worked to design gender- and race-conscious policies that actually move organizations toward equal employment opportunity.