Gender Bias in Workplace – The Alternative Solutions
Gender bias in workplace is an indication that the culture within the organization needs to be changed and improved. The stated problem of gender bias in workplace is considered one of the common, yet alarming issues in any organizations. There organizational leaders must ensure that the balance treatment between male and female employees is always included in the company’s operational procedure. Otherwise, conflict between genders might arise and positive employee perspectives towards the management might turn into negative ones. Therefore, it is essential that finding alternative solutions for this organizational problem must be done. Any proposed alternatives must be applied as soon as possible to avoid any further conflicts between the employees and management or between the two genders.
Evaluation of Alternatives
Productivity
Alternative A: Promotion of Gender Equality from Hiring Process and Progression of Career
Gender equality in every workplace is an important approach in preventing biases either against male or female employee. In most cases, women are the ones being aggravated in the workplace, which can start as early as during the hiring process. One way to avoid gender bias in an organization is to improve the hiring procedure, such as changing the job interview format. Normally, question that pertains to how much salary does the applicant should get is a starting point towards gender bias. This must be eliminated women applicants consistently ask for lower salary than men do (World Economic Forum, 2014). The difference between the offered salaries of men and women during job interviews serve as evidence that inequality between genders could be worse inside the workplace itself.
As part of the first alternative solution, it should not only be the hiring process that needs to be improved in order to solve gender bias in an organization. It is also important that equality among all employees, regardless of their gender difference, must be part of both education and training. Young individuals must understand the importance of choosing the right job that will secure their future, regardless of their gender. Relatively, due to the higher incident of women being the victim of gender bias, the organization must be proactive when it comes to welcoming women in the company. There must be a clear organizational mandate that clearly states the company’s support for women empowerment. In this case, both promotions and salaries must be monitored regularly to ensure that gender based salaries will not occur.
Alternative B: Addressing Unconscious Bias in Workplace
In some cases, an organization that promotes equality among its employees may also experience gender bias unconsciously. In fact, being not aware that such bias is already happening in the workplace has been one of the reasons that gender disparities occur (Gino, 2014). It is important that leaders of organizations are able to identify whether unconscious gender bias is already happening within the organization. The identification must be proactively done by leaders because sometimes, a person is unaware that any practice or action is already an indicator that there is someone being a victim of gender disparity.
Moreover, unconscious biases has been identified as prevalent in the society, which often become the reason that stereotyping happens either against the male or female. As reflexive, hidden preferences, individuals’ biases help in shaping a person’s worldview. However, some circumstances leads to unwanted decisions as well as discrimination especially when a person is not aware of them and use them inappropriately. Unequal treatment against other person may start at the first instance of contact, like first meeting that continues with every interaction.
Cost
Alternative A: Promotion of Gender Equality from Hiring Process and Progression of Career
In relation to prevention of gender bias, redesigning the hiring process and workplace practice may impact the cost of ensuring gender equality within the organization. Niddia Paauwe (2014) said that hiring a wrong person in the company can be an expensive error. It was also reported that companies who hired the wrong person cost the company at least $25,000, while other companies cost more due to wrong decision. Relatively, an instance of wrong hire may have been influenced by bias decision-making process, which in this case, a gender-based decision.
If the hiring officer will be looking at the gender-based skills and intelligence of an applicant, it is likely that wrong hire might happen. Specific skills and knowledge of rejected applicant could have been the most appropriate ones for the vacant position. Thus, the hired person due to gender-based decision can be a liability to the company instead of becoming a productive human asset. Just like the unconscious bias, companies tend to hire an ineffective person without being fully aware of his or her qualifications. Instead, the person was hired based on gender-based assumptions. This action can be an expensive error for companies that do not practice gender equality awareness. In order to address the cost-related impacts of gender bias, human resource professionals must set a clear criteria for applicants, excluding gender and other significant diversity factors. Once the company is able to improve its recruitment process, the workplace ethics regarding equality will follow accordingly, transforming the employees’ productivity and effectiveness with their jobs. On the other hand, the organization will be able to take advantage of an improved hiring process without the looking at the applicant’s skills based on his or her gender.
Alternative B: Addressing Unconscious Bias in Workplace
Gender bias in a workplace is an indication of either intentional or unconscious bias towards the employee’s gender. The alternative solution that covers diversity training among leaders and employees of the organization may improve the awareness of every person in the workplace when it comes to gender equality. However, there is corresponding cost for conducting a diversity training. Evidence suggests that the implementation of diversity training and policies will strengthen the organization’s human capital in relation to achieving equalities on both genders (European Commission, 2003). On the other hand, there are costs associated with training and implementation of diversity awareness in every company. It may include monetary costs of compliance regulations about discrimination as well as the implementation of diversity programs that aim to reduce gender biases.
Moreover, this approach may also include opportunity costs that are linked to the diversion of the management time as well as the execution of the program, which is associated with significant organizational change efforts, such as the improvement of gender equality and diversity enhancement programs.
References
European Commission. (2003). The Cost and Benefits of Diversity. Employment and Social Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/mars/source/resources/references/others/17%20-%20Costs%20and%20Benefits%20of%20Diversity%20-%20EU%202003%20ExSum.pdf
Gino, F. (2014, October 10). Ending Gender Discrimination Requires More than a Training Program. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/10/ending-gender-discrimination-requires-more-than-a-training-program
Paauwe, N. (2014, December). Redesign your recruiting process to prevent bad hires and improve your quality-of-hire. Retrieved from cammio.com/blog/redesign-your-recruiting-process-to-prevent-bad-hires-and-improve-your-quality-of-hire/
World Economic Forum. (2014, October 29). Six ways to fix gender inequality at work | World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/10/six-ways-fix-gender-inequality-workplace/
