2022 | The year of breaking workplace biases

Topics: Diversity, Leadership, #BreaktheBias

In an article, business journalist and editor, Cathryn Newbery, describes the roots and consequences of bias. She says:

“Influences such as our background, experiences and environmental conditions can all play a part in shaping our choices, whether we realise it or not. For the most part, this is not a major issue. But we display unconscious bias when we favour or discriminate against people because of these influences without even realising it.

n fact, unconscious bias can have a big impact on people-related decisions at work, especially when it comes to recruitment, promotion, performance management and idea generation. When bias is prevalent, your organisation will struggle to hire diverse teams, and efforts to improve workplace inclusion will be of limited success.”

Bias, both unconscious and conscious, has often been a stubborn deterrent to progress in the space of diversity, equity and inclusion. Despite multiple efforts in this direction, workplaces continue experiencing both subtle and significant hindrances to becoming truly diverse, equitable and inclusive.

Although a bias may generate from all forms of mental and observational capacity, it is important for employees and leaders alike to recognise their own internal biases to expand their personal growth in a professional environment. It’s not just about progressing in a workplace setting but breaking your mental barriers that may challenge your personal views to shut the shop.

This month, we endeavour to face the challenge head on and uncover those many workplace biases that need to be broken for inclusive advancement. We asked industry leaders which is the one draconian workplace bias they want to break in 2022. Here’s what they said: