Diversity Awareness by Ibec
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This document outlines a diversity awareness workshop template developed by IBEC with government funding. It provides an outline of topics to be covered in the workshop, including definitions of diversity and unconscious bias. It notes that unconscious bias stems from natural human tendencies to make associations, and can negatively impact workplace equality if left unaddressed. The workshop aims to increase awareness of these issues and their effects in order to promote diversity and compliance with equality legislation.
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Diversity Awareness by Ibec
- 2. This diversity awareness workshop was developed by IBEC with funding received from the Office of the Minister for Integration and the Equality Authority. Acknowledgements
- 3. Disclaimer The Diversity Awareness Workshop is for information purposes only and IBEC assumes no responsibility for any use to which the information may be put, or for any errors, typographical or otherwise. This workshop is not a substitute for specialist employment law or legal advice, where appropriate. Member companies are invited to consult IBEC in this regard. IBEC 2012
- 4. Outline of the diversity awareness workshop • What is diversity? • The equality legislation • Why do we need to be diversity aware? • The equality – diversity continuum • Unconscious bias • The effects of unconscious bias in the workplace • The organisation unconscious • Solutions to unconscious bias
- 5. So what does diversity mean to you?
- 7. Definition of Diversity Management Creation and maintenance of an environment where differences, both visible and non-visible, are valued and respected in order to maximise an individual’s contribution to the business strategy
- 8. Why do we need to be diversity aware? • Drivers: • Demographic trends • Business environment • Legal Impetus • Potential benefits of adopting a Diversity Management Strategy
- 9. Why do we need to be diversity aware? Demographic trends •Every workforce is diverse
- 10. The Diverse Irish Workforce Who are we? • 12% of non-Irish origin • 10% with some form of disability • 44% of the workforce is female • Our workforce is ageing and birth rate falling • 57% of the workforce are over 35, 32% over 45 • 19% of employment in Ireland is part-time, 20% of workers do ‘shift’ work • 4 generations working together in our workplaces Source: CSO, Quarterly National Household Survey, Census
- 11. Why do we need to be diversity aware? Demographic trends •Every workforce is diverse •Demands of a changing workforce profile Business environment •Utilising all our people yields competitive advantage • Failure to integrate skills translates to a failure to contribute up to 3.5% to Ireland’s GNP • Diversity within and across cultures
- 12. Activity – Connect the dots
- 13. Why do we need to be diversity aware? Demographic trends •Every workforce is diverse •Demands of a changing workforce profile Business environment •Utilising all our people yields competitive advantage • Failure to integrate skills translates to a failure to contribute up to 3.5% to Ireland’s GNP • Diversity within and across cultures Legal impetus •Compliance with legislation
- 14. Equality legislation • Gender • Age • Race • Marital status • Family status • Religion • Sexual orientation • Disability • Membership of the traveller community
- 15. Discrimination • Direct Discrimination • Indirect Discrimination • Discrimination by Association
- 16. Redress - Non Pay Case • Non-employee at time of referral of claim (excluding dismissal claim) - €12,697 • Employees (and dismissed employees) - 2 years remuneration • Sanction imposed must have a dissuasive effect on the employer and must be adequate in relation to damage sustained in order to ensure real and effective judicial protection
- 17. Redress - Equal Pay Case • Equality Officer/Labour Court • Maximum 3 years’ loss of pay • Circuit Court (gender cases only) • Maximum 6 years’ loss of pay
- 18. Compensation
- 19. Sample cases • Equality Authority v. Ryanair, 2001 • Recruitment advertisement and discrimination • €10,157.97 compensation plus action • Cunningham v. BMS Sales Ltd • Application form with age and birth date • €5,000 compensation
- 20. Managing risk and reputation Foreign labour ‘wildcat’ strikes escalate as nuclear plants join protest Tribunal reports huge rise in race discrimination cases Race, age, disability, gender dominate work discrimination cases Teacher gets €6,500 from equality case Civil servant awarded €60,000 over age discrimination Company ordered to pay €7,000 over bias against pregnant employee Company pay circa €56k for 'victimising' pregnant worker 28% increase in work-related discrimination claims Equality ruling favours foreign workers
- 21. Potential benefits of diversity and inclusion • Competitive edge through improving customer service • Larger market share • Cost savings through increased retention rates • Larger pool of talent • Committed and flexible workforce • Meeting employee expectations • Responding to social and demographic changes
- 22. Potential Gains – IBEC HRM Survey • Improved company culture • Improved retention/ recruitment • Increased commitment / loyalty from staff • Improved staff morale • Lowered staff turnover • Better understanding of business
- 23. Employee Employer Multiple stakeholder benefits Creativity Innovation Fun at work Greater employee satisfaction Teamwork Conflict avoidance Fewer complaints and grievances Reduced stress, sickness, absenteeism Increased productivity Quality improvement Customer friendly Increased market opportunities Access to talent High Performance Bottom line, shareholder value, revenue Employer of choice Reputation & brand
- 24. Business Case - Example • The Dove soap marketing campaign underpinned by a clear diversity philosophy and message is estimated to have resulted in a 700% increase in sales for Unilever. • TNT calculates that the effective management of diversity and inclusion has resulted in the reduction of staff turnover from 25% in 2000 to 10% in 2003 with a similar reduction in absenteeism. • Royal Mail in the UK estimates that it has achieved savings of £7Million from the introduction of anti-bullying and harassment policies. Source – The Business Impact of Equality and Diversity – The International Evidence - Kathy Monks National Centre for Partnership and Performance and Equality Authority
- 25. Case studies • O2 Ability Awards • Best Places to Work Award • Business working responsibly award
- 26. Customers • In the past – young, middle class, white • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community • Women as investors and consumers • Older individuals • Global opportunities – requires cultural competence
- 27. Cultural competence • Cultural competence refers to an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. • Communication – non-verbal • Eye contact, facial expressions • Gestures • Communication – oral • Communication - written
- 28. Cultural competence - gestures • Emblems – “thumbs up” • Illustrators – holding up number of fingers to convey time left • Regulators – making a circle with your hand = “ok”, “money” or “worthless” • Affect displays – smile or tears • Adaptors – yawn or clenched fist
- 29. Cultural competence • Cultural competence refers to an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. • Communication – non-verbal • Eye contact, facial expressions • Gestures • Space • Communication – oral or written
- 30. Compliance Integrated Workplace Diversity – Equality Continuum 9 Equality Grounds Recruitment, Promotion, Training, Rewards, Performance Management, Work-life Balance
- 31. A diversity approach emanates from the widespread perceived need to link equality objectives to broader business and organisational objectives. It is argued that failure to do so has been one of the key weaknesses of the traditional ‘equal opportunity’ approach therefore, diversity is said to constitute a ‘new way forward’ Institute of Personnel & Development
- 32. Examples of where it has gone wrong • Banter • Sickness reporting • Inappropriate questioning • Terminology • Causing offence • Assuming, presuming and generalising
- 33. What is unconscious bias? • Unconscious: • adjective 1 not awake and aware of and responding to one’s environment. 2 done or existing without one realizing. 3 unaware of. • noun (the unconscious) the part of the mind which is inaccessible to the conscious mind but which affects behaviour and emotions. • Bias: • noun inclination or prejudice in favour of a particular person, thing, or viewpoint.
- 34. What is unconscious bias? • Our fundamental way of looking at and encountering the world is driven by a “hard- wired” pattern of making unconscious decisions about others based on what feels safe, likeable, valuable, and competent. (Ross, 2008) • Everyone has some biases, which can be either positive or negative and which we maybe unaware of i.e. they are unconscious.
- 36. Unconscious bias • Stems from our natural tendency to make associations to help us organise our social worlds • Most people believe that they hold fewer biases than the average person • Traditional paradigm ~ “good person, bad person” paradigm of diversity • A barrier to workplace equality that may persist despite a general commitment to increase diversity • Virtually every one of us is biased towards something, somebody, some group
- 37. Approximately what age is the woman?
- 38. How many ladies do you see?
- 39. Same dynamic occurs in the way we: Recruit people Mentor employees Assign projects Offer training opportunities Listen to people’s ideas and suggestions Interact with colleagues Make promotional choices Give performance reviews Decide organisational policy Conduct marketing campaigns Treat customers
- 40. Some examples of unconscious bias • Less than 15% of American men are over six foot tall, yet almost 60% of corporate CEOs are over six foot tall. • Less than 4% of American men are over six foot, two inches tall, yet more than 36% of corporate CEOs are over six foot, two inches tall¹ • Gender bias: our assumptions about the characteristics of men and women. • Maternal Wall • She is not competent enough • When the term ‘manager’ is used which leads 80% of people to think of a male
- 41. Supported by research • CV discrimination research - Equality Authority & ESRI, 2009 • Discrimination consistent across the names, occupations and different business sectors tested • Internationally • Males selected over females • White/Asian American over African/Mexican American • Even higher quality CV’s received fewer call-backs for minorities than lower quality CV’s for white candidates
- 42. Companies that face intense competitive situations will figure out over time, that all that matters is talent. Bias of any kind is an unaffordable luxury. Carly Fiorina, ex-chief executive Hewlett Packard
- 43. The organisational unconscious • Unconscious behaviour is not just individual; it influences organisational culture as well. • Organisational culture is more or less an enduring collection of basic assumptions and ways of interpreting things that a given organisation has invented, discovered, or developed in learning to cope with its internal and external influences. • Unconscious organisational patterns, or “norms” of behaviour, exert an enormous influence over organisational decisions, choices, and behaviours.
- 44. The organisational unconscious • “Flexible work” arrangements are one area in which the conflict between our conscious choices and the “organisational unconscious” is coming to a head. • Conflicts such as this can leave employees frustrated by the feeling that their leaders and the company as a whole are disingenuous in their statements, when in actuality the leaders may not see the conflict themselves.
- 45. What do you think? A woman applies for a job with a catering firm. She is turned down, on the grounds that the company is only hiring people who have a formal catering qualification. Afterwards, she finds out that a friend who has no qualifications but has a different skin colour, and was interviewed after her, has been offered the job. Is this discrimination? Answer: Probably yes. Discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin is illegal throughout the EU, including in employment. The circumstances suggest there is a case to answer here. It would be up to the employer to prove otherwise.
- 46. What do you think? A young woman works for an IT company. She takes on more and more responsibility but her manager refuses to promote her, as he says she is too young and would not command the respect of other members of the team. Is this discrimination? Answer: Yes, because he has clearly stated that her age is the reason for refusing her promotion. Discrimination at work on the grounds of age is illegal throughout the EU. If the woman is able to take on more responsibility, she should be promoted regardless of her age.
- 47. What do you think? A man works in a bar. His colleagues perceive him as being gay and constantly make remarks and jokes about his sexual preferences. Is this discrimination? A. Yes, he is being treated unfairly. B. No, it’s not serious – everyone’s colleagues make jokes. C. It depends whether the jokes are degrading.
- 48. What do you think? A man works in a bar. His colleagues perceive him as being gay and constantly make remarks and jokes about his sexual preferences. Is this discrimination? Answer: A: Making jokes and derogatory comments at work about somebody’s sexual orientation is unfair and constitutes harassment. This would create an atmosphere in which the man would find it difficult to work effectively, and might even push him into resigning from his job. Discrimination on the grounds of somebody’s sexual orientation is illegal under Irish legislation (Employment Equality Acts 1998-2008).
- 49. What do you think? Imagine now that you also work in the shop. What should you do when you see your colleagues tease the man? A. You laugh along with them – it’s only a bit of fun. B. You ignore the situation, hoping it will just go away. C. You offer your support to the man.
- 50. What do you think? Imagine now that you also work in the shop. What should you do when you see your colleagues tease the man? Answer: C Although it’s sometimes easier to ignore the situation, if you see someone being discriminated against he/she may need your support – for example, you should encourage him/her to speak to your manager, or offer advice where to go for information.
- 51. What do you think? A woman in her 60s works in a sales company with a team of colleagues in their 20s and 30s. The team, including the manager, often goes out socialising but don't ask her along. She finds out that they discuss work issues during those trips and feels left out. Is this discrimination? A. Yes, the woman is being treated unfairly. B. No, it’s normal that people of a similar age socialise together. C. It depends on the specific issues being discussed.
- 52. What do you think? A woman in her 60s works in a sales company with a team of colleagues in their 20s and 30s. The team, including the manager, often goes out socialising but don't ask her along. She finds out that they discuss work issues during those trips and feels left out. Is this discrimination? Answer: A Discrimination at work against someone because of his/her age is illegal under EU & Irish law. Even if unintended, the woman is being treated unfairly. Her manager should find other occasions to discuss work issues with the whole team during working hours.
- 53. What do you think? A Muslim woman gets a job in a cafe. However, on her first day she is told she is not allowed to serve customers as she wears a headscarf and her boss thinks that this doesn’t fit with the cafe’s image. Is this discrimination? A.No, the owner can decide who serves customers. B.Yes, she is being treated unfairly. C.It depends what kind of cafe she’s working in.
- 54. What do you think? A Muslim woman gets a job in a cafe. However, on her first day she is told she is not allowed to serve customers as she wears a headscarf and her boss thinks that this doesn’t fit with the cafe’s image. Is this discrimination? Answer: B Discrimination at work because of religion is illegal under EU & Irish law. The fact that the woman wears a headscarf should not mean that she is treated differently from other employees.
- 55. What do you think? A woman is refused entry to a nightclub because she’s told the club is for "members only". Yet, a short while later, her 2 friends who have a different skin colour are allowed in, even if they are not members either. Is this discrimination? A.Yes, stopping someone from entering a nightclub due to his/her skin colour is illegal. B.No, the owner is free to decide who can enter his/her club. C.It depends how the woman and her friends were behaving.
- 56. What do you think? A woman is refused entry to a nightclub because she’s told the club is for "members only". Yet, a short while later, her 2 friends who have a different skin colour are allowed in, even if they are not members either. Is this discrimination? Answer: A to Discrimination because of someone’s race or ethnic origin is illegal under EU and Irish law (Racial Equality Directive, Equal Status Act). The laws cover not only employment but also other areas including access to goods, services and housing. In this case, the club’s owner is denying equal access to the service that he/she provides to the public.
- 57. What do you think? I work with many older people at the moment but I find a lot of them cannot keep up with technology which makes my job harder. Is this bias? Answer: No. It is an insensitive comment but not bias.
- 58. What do you think? We need all our staff to be really punctual because otherwise it throws off the schedule badly. As a result I won’t hire any people from Spanish speaking countries as they just don’t understand the concept of time. Is this bias? Answer: Yes – it is a total generalisation and stereotypical viewpoint not based in fact.
- 59. What do you think? Its great, we have a load of gay men working with us. In retail you need as much artistic creativity as possible and no one is as good as a gay man. Is this bias? Answer: Yes – it is a total generalisation and stereotypical viewpoint not based in fact.
- 60. How to deal with unconscious bias in the workplace 1. Recognise that you have biases and this is normal 2. Identify what your biases are 3. Explore the significance and unconscious effect of early messages you received as you grew up about different people 4. Decide which biases you will address first 5. Identify, support and collaborate with effective programs that increase diversity in the pipeline 6. Lead by example
- 61. To address unconscious bias 7. Consider facts in a different light and test alternative hypotheses 8. Check your culture for what behaviours it rewards 9. Increase the diversity of teams, meetings etc.. to promote thoughtful decision-making
- 63. So what now….. Look for volunteers for diversity council Set up employee network Run diversity week Launch new equality and diversity policy Develop “New Dad’s” workshop Talk from Employee Assistance Provider Equality, Diversity and Inclusion plan for Organisation
- 64. Thank you and next steps
Notes de l'éditeur
- SAY: The focus on diversity has been growing in Ireland and globally. Individuals with different experiences and attitudes bring varied perspectives and ideas to the organisation and collectively can create superior organisational outcomes. This range of experiences and approaches can be integrated into the company strategy to meet the needs of employees and customers alike. The focus is not on assimilating differences into the culture but rather harnessing workforce diversity and this is a business strategy which not only yields individual engagement and performance benefits but also assists organisations in improving their bottom line, innovation and decision-making.
- Facilitators notes Materials – Flip chart, flipchart pens, post-it notes, copies of ‘join the dots’ exercise and solution (optional: use flip chart pre-prepared with dots OR acetate and overhead projector and pen to solve), prepared flip chart sheets with various diversity groups (older people, people with disabilities, people with mental health difficulties, women etc.)
- SAY: This is a general outline of the workshop and what we will cover – it will be an interactive workshop so I would ask you to participate as fully as possible.
- Facilitators note: POST IT NOTES/FLIP CHART & MARKERS Option 1: 2 minute brainstorm around the table – key is to see how many original ideas people can come up with. 1 person to note the ideas down and feedback to the main group table by table. Option 2: Individually get everyone to identify what diversity means to them and put them on post it notes (3 each) to add to a sheet of flip chart paper at the top of the room – as everyone adds their contribution add original ones to a separate part of the sheet and duplicates on top of each other. You may need to sort themes once everyone has put their contributions up. As an extra icebreaker ask participants to introduce themselves and share with their colleague/group 2 unique characteristics that they think they have which are different to their group e.g.. play piano or volunteer in the community or lived in the Middle East as a child etc.
- SAY Diversity is a multi-faceted phenomenon. What constitutes diversity and how to manage it has many differing definitions. Often the focus only consider the visible and observable aspects of diversity. In reality, diversity also encompasses the less visible or underlying attributes that differentiate and illustrate the texture of the workforce. Let’s look at a model that was created by Loden and Rosener* to explain each human with their similarities and differences along with additions to the completed model which have been drawn from other diversity academics input. Let’s consider the self as the center of the model. It begins with each individual. SAY Traditionally, when people think about diversity they think mostly about race and gender – however diversity is much more broader than that. EXPLAIN There are many dimensions of diversity, all of which can and do create barriers in the workplace. This training focuses primarily on the inner circle, which has been identified by Loden and Rosener as the primary dimensions of diversity. However, participants frequently feel that their lives have been strongly influenced by one or more of the secondary dimensions. EXPLAIN that in our organisation, diversity recognises that all of our employees have both similarities and differences which add value to the workplace. We are all similar to and different from one another on many different dimensions. Workplace diversity can be described as a situation where there are increasing numbers of non-dominant employee groups or variations in the background of employees resulting in heterogeneity in socio-cultural perspectives, world views, lifestyles, language and behaviour. It includes differences based on the 9 equality grounds embedded in Irish legislation which we will look at in a moment as well as an infinite range of individual characteristics and experiences such as communication style, career path, experience, educational background, geographic location and other variables that influence personal perspectives. Diversity is what builds teams — a collection of individual experiences, backgrounds, and cultures that can view problems and challenges from a wide-variety of lenses. SAY Let’s review the first circle around the self, those aspects over which you typically have no control, and/or those you were born with. Age -how old you are; race -the racial group you identified with; ethnicity -your affiliation to a group that shares common traits, customs, language (e.g.. Korean, Latin American, Scandinavian); gender - male or female, physical abilities (and physical challenges); sexual orientation a person’s sexual preference. Since these dimensions are often innate, they are also the most commonly recognized diversity characteristics. Anyone can describe themselves by going around the wheel. You can offer an example of yourself if you wish. EXPLAIN that the secondary dimension refers to those things that may change throughout our lives and over which we typically have some control to change them. In this second circle there are things that may not be as obvious, characteristics that are within your control, based on the choices you make; and may vary from person to person. EXPLAIN that in the past most diversity models included only two circles, because we are focusing on diversity from a workplace and organisational point of view, some organisations also include an “organisational dimension” that refers to the individual experience and position in the company. This third dimension refers to elements that may be part of your work experience –both past and present and describes or affects who you are at work. Because it refers to your position or tenure in an organisation, it can also change throughout our career. SAY However we are more than a sum of the wheel – it doesn’t say much about the unique individual you know yourself to be, your character but it does say a lot about the social reality that shapes everyone’s life - imagine, that you woke up tomorrow morning and found that your race was different from what it was when you went to bed or that your gender or sexual orientation had changed. How would that affect how people perceive you and treat you? How would it affect how you see yourself? How would it change the material circumstances of your life, such as where you live or how much money you have? In what ways would the change make life better? Worse? Focus on the social consequences, on how people perceive you and treat you if such a thing happened to you. What opportunities would open or close? What rewards would or wouldn’t come your way? For most people, shifting only a few parts of the diversity wheel would be enough to change their lives dramatically. Even though the characteristics in the wheel may not tell us who we as individuals, they matter a great deal in our society because they locate us in relation to other people and the world in ways that have huge consequences. For most people, shifting only a few parts of the diversity wheel would be enough to change their lives dramatically. REFER to the Flipchart with the unique characteristics (ice-breaker) and ask participants to determine if each of the characteristics mentioned are from the Primary or Secondary dimension. What difference does this make in the workplace? Consider one area and discuss it in detail e.g. age or disability *Note to the facilitator: Marylin Loden is the founder of Loder Associates, Inc., a full service consulting firm with broad experience and state-of-the-art expertise in the management of organizational change and the implementation of successful diversity initiatives. As one of the oldest diversity consulting firms in the country, Loden Associates has served client organizations across the United States and internationally including a diverse mix of Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, universities, law firms and management consulting firms for over 15 years. Dr. Judy B. Rosener is a professor in the Graduate School of Management University of California, Irvine. Dr. Rosener teaches and does research in the areas of men and women at work, cultural diversity, and business and government. She has published articles in academic journals and the popular press, and is a sought after speaker in both the public and private sector.
- READ slide - recognise, respect and value differences based on the individual characteristics and experiences.
- SAY: So why are we even concerned with diversity? There are a number of drivers bringing this topic to the fore at this time. They include - READ bullets
- SAY So why is this even something we’re discussing – why do we need to be diversity aware? Firstly, no workplace or society is homogenous. NEXT SLIDE
- SAY No workplace or society is homogenous If we first examine a snapshot of our diverse workforce. In less than 2 decades Ireland have gone from a net exporter to a net importer of people, from quite a homogenous workforce to a broad diverse workforce. Today, we have more males than females employed, the workforce is ageing and the traditional labour pool of white able-bodied males under 45 is shrinking. However, these statistics are already out of date – the level of change that is underway in our organisations through downsizing, rightsizing, emigration and immigration changes means that in 12 months it is unclear what the workforce profile will look like. Only through the creation and maintenance of an integrated diverse & inclusive workplace which fully utilises the skills and abilities of the workforce will organisations be prepared and ready for the future This diverse workforce brings with it demands as well as rewards – in terms of demands we have people with different backgrounds, ways of thinking, seeing the world and engaging with it which means not everyone can be motivated the same or will want the same from work.
- SAY Organisations need to utilise every opportunity for competitive advantage if they are going to succeed or even survive in the current economic climate. Failure to focus on the utilisation of all resources at a company’s disposal is both short sighted and wasteful. Given the speed at which products and services can be replicated and the competition with low cost labour nations, the one real competitive advantage left for most organisations are their people – with their varying backgrounds, work styles, skills and competencies. Some have said that Ireland will come through this recession by positioning itself as a knowledge economy (e.g.. Forfas, 2006) meaning our competency levels are increasingly important along with our need for a highly educated and skilled workforce. An integrated workplace offers this range of competencies as well as the adaptability and flexibility required to succeed. However, not everyone is managing diversity appropriately, for example, if we take the non-Irish nationals group alone, many of this group are highly educated and skilled, although their skills have been found to be underutilised in employment that often does not reflect their educational status (Expert group on future skills needs, 2005) – this failure to integrate skills translates to a failure to contribute up to 3.5% to Irelands GNP. Also as one of the world’s most open economies, Ireland exports 80% of everything we produce. What happens in Europe, the US and Asia impacts more on a small open economy like Ireland than our larger neighbours and competitors. We can and must trade our way out of the present severe difficulties - we did it before and we can do it again. This will require a focus on what we need to do to sell our goods and services overseas in global markets. This means understanding the diversity within and across cultures. Once again this means capitalising on a diverse workforce and using their insights and competencies to understand customers' diverse cultures and decisional processes and to meet their needs. Who better for market intelligence than consumers from such backgrounds. Only through these actions can we hope to regain prosperity.
- Use http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ui335.pdf Connect the dots activity – Copy of the dots page for each participant Individually ask participants to connect the dots using 4 straight lines and without taking their pen off the page supplied. After a few minutes invite anyone who solved the problem to come to the flipchart (pre-prepared)/overhead projector & acetate and solve for the group SAY Why is it that most of us did not think of going outside the boundaries to solve the problem? To solve the problem, we had to get outside of our usual way of thinking. We had to literally draw outside the lines. This is what is required of us when we interact with people who are different from us. We have to look at other ways of “thinking about thinking.” Drawing outside the lines is very difficult because we are so used to our own way of thinking and our own point of view that it is hard to see other points of view. To successfully interact with people from different backgrounds and different cultures, we must learn to look at the world from many points of view. Ask participants to share examples of situations when finding a good solution to a problem required thinking “outside of the box.” This is diversity – it offers us out of the box thinking because we are bringing different people, backgrounds and cultures to the table with different ways of approaching a solution and together, learning from each other we come to a higher class solution to the problem. The beauty of this out of the box thinking means that we may appreciate things in a different way and we might benefit from a different way of looking at things.
- SAY Finally, another facet of the diversity topic is the concern regarding compliance. In Ireland we are protected by legislation that identifies in particular 9 key grounds that are protected In Ireland there are 2 key pieces of legislation - the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2008 and the Equal Status Act 2000-2008
- SAY We will talk about diversity from a range of angles but one thing we have to be mindful of at all times and which underpins and is a basic requirement when discussing diversity, is the equality legislation Refer to the wheel diagram which shows there are numerous things that make us different, there are 9 equality grounds which are of particular focus from a compliance stance. Refer to the legislation and outline the protections Explain how this stretches into how we advertise, recruit, select, train, performance appraise, interact, reward, discipline and promote individuals in the workplace as well as how we engage, support and serve our customers.
- SAY: Discrimination is defined as less favourable treatment. A person is said to be discriminated against if he/she is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation on any of the 9 grounds. To establish direct discrimination, a direct comparison must be made, for example, in the case of disability discrimination the comparison must be between a person who has a disability and another who has not, or between persons with different disabilities. Indirect discrimination occurs when practices or policies that do not appear to discriminate against one group more than another actually have a discriminatory impact. It can also happen where a requirement that may appear non-discriminatory. It focuses on the impact of a practice on an individual - an apparently neutral provision puts a group at a particular disadvantage – e.g. criteria for job that is non-essential could be discriminatory e.g.. a car-park attendant job where the sole requirement is to park cars and the requirements are for someone with a leaving certificate – this would discriminate against certain groups – which grounds would be affected? - possibly Race, Age, Membership of the Traveller Community, Disability By association – when a person has been treated less favourably because of association with another person e.g.. a member of the traveller community & a friend are in a pub, they are not served – 2 cases taken and won – one for discrimination and one for discrimination by association.
- SAY: there are significant penalties in place under the Acts Pursuant to Section 82 of the Acts, the following remedies are provided for: · Non-employees shall be entitled to compensation of up to the sum of €12,697 e.g.. where someone came to an interview and was discriminated against; · Employees shall be entitled to compensation of up to two years' remuneration; · an order for equal treatment in whatever respect is relevant to the case; · an order that a person/persons take a specified course of action; · an order for re-instatement or re-engagement, with or without an order for compensation; In equal pay cases claimants may be entitled to compensation in the form of arrears of remuneration (attributable to a failure to provide equal remuneration) for up to three years prior to the date of referral of the claim. READ last bullet - Excerpt from European Court of Justice case
- Huge potential for cases to be taken
- SAY This figure charts the average annual compensation awarded under the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts respectively (Equality Tribunal, 2009). A clearly observable trend exists from 2005 to 2009 where the average compensation figures for both the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts map each other. An employer’s greatest financial risk is a claim taken under the Employment Equality Acts. This is due in part to the fact that the maximum compensation awardable under the Equal Status Acts is limited to €6,348. The most common ground under which a claim is referred under the Employment Equality Acts is that of race. On review of race cases heard at the Equality Tribunal over the period 1 August 2011 to 1 November 2011, 78% have included claims relating to terms and conditions of employment, making this the most frequently brought claim over this period. This claim is usually accompanied by other claims, the most frequent of these, and the second most common claim under the race ground, is unfair dismissal. Under the Equal Status Act the ground which featured most was that of disability. The maximum award under the Employment Equality Acts in 2009 was €189,000. The maximum compensation awarded under the Equal Status Acts is set at a maximum of €6,348.
- SAY: A prominent example of an age discrimination claim was the case of Equality Authority v. Ryanair [2001 E.L.R 107]. Section 10(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998 provides that a person shall not publish or cause to be published or display an advertisement which relates to employment and which “(a) indicates an intention to discriminate or (b) might reasonably be understood as indicating such an intention”. In this case, the Ryanair advertisement stated “we need a young and dynamic professional…” and the ideal candidate would be “young and dynamic…” The Equality Officer found that “young” clearly indicated or might reasonably be understood as indicating an intention to exclude applicants who were not young. It was therefore discriminatory and Ryanair was ordered to pay a sum of €10,157.97 compensation and ordered to include a review of its equal opportunities policies, equality proof their recruitment and selection guidelines and publish a statement of equal prominence to the potentially discriminatory advertisement. Another illustrative case in the area of recruitment is that of Cunningham v. BMS Sales Ltd [FEB/EE/2007/017]. Mr Cunningham was requested, when applying for a job, to fill out a form with his date of birth and age. He gave the wrong age (37 not 47) and no date of birth. A number of days later a representative of BMS Sales questioned the Mr Cunningham about the form and refused to process the job application stating that he was being “evasive and uncooperative”. When pressed about his age the Complainant stated that he did not see how this was relevant to the job he was applying for. The Equality Officer found that on the basis that the Respondent had sought the Complainants age and date of birth on the registration form and “subsequently pursued the matter with him”, that the Complainant had established a prima facie case of discrimination on the basis of age. Mr Cunningham was awarded the sum of €5,000 in damages.
- SAY Similarly, these headlines illustrate what we can see when we do not manage diversity and equality in our workplaces and these news headlines are not ones any organisation would want to see associated with their company and splashed over the front pages of the news. It’s not good for us as members of an organisation, it’s not good for business for our organisation and it’s not what we want in a place that we work in. Clearly, key to managing all of these risks is through the effective management of diversity throughout the organisations strategy, policies and procedures.
- SAY Clearly, there are moral and fairness arguments for integrating diversity and equality in the workplace. We have just discussed why it is necessary to be diversity aware. In addition, there are also huge benefits to diversity for individual employees, customers and for employers and organisations. READ the bullet points Cost of labour turnover is minimum 2.5 time salary at senior levels – think agency fee, training, downtime etc. Expectation of employee – valued, engaged, involved, loyal
- Low staff turnover means you retain corporate memory – shared history, knowledge of clients who like to be dealt with in particular way, who gets job done = aids corporate efficiency and effectiveness
- SAY Clearly, there are moral and fairness arguments for integrating diversity and equality in the workplace. We have just discussed why it is necessary to be diversity aware. In addition, there are also huge benefits to diversity for individual employees, customers and for employers and organisations. REFER to the relevant bullet points - An integrated approach to the management of diverse employees has been found to lead to an increased return on investment, assets and equity to shareholders. Furthermore, while investors obviously want to invest in orgs who are financially sound, increasingly consideration is being given to factors such as commitment to diversity, as there is a business case for the benefits such diversity brings to the bottom line. Given the need for investment capital today this is important. Improved reputation, brand and being seen as an employer of choice – this attracts investors as well as high calibre employees when required thus lowering costs Greater employee satisfaction, improved retention and reduced stress and absenteeism - all of these contribute to lower labour costs, fewer disruptions at work & improved employee relations. And finally, fewer cases, complaints and grievances occur as organisations who integrate their workplaces tend to be conscious of the diversity of their workforce and customers and are more likely to deal proactively with any anticipated problems.
- We can bring those research statements to life by looking at specific organisational cases (refer to the slide). Unilever carried out a study in 2004 globally of 3200 women from 10 countries (Europe, US, Latin America, Japan), aged 18-64 on perceptions and attitudes to their personal beauty and wellbeing – generated the campaign for real beauty – about changing stereotypes of beauty and in doing so with their diversity of every age, colour, shape and size increased sales by 700% TNT reduced staff turnover and absenteeism from 25% in 2000 to 10% in 2003 through effectively integrating their workplace while also saving €15,000 in taxes through the employment of people with a disability (Austria) Could illustrate this with YouTube clips of companies that highlight diversity e.g. IBM, Sodexo
- Facilitators note: It would be useful to populate some examples of the current relevant award winners and placed organisations e.g.. Abbott or Deloitte or CRH, Microsoft, ESB or Intel Company examples based on e.g.. size can be used to match the profile of your own organisation
- SAY Organisations have to realise that all cultures of the world are their potential customers. Not too long ago, many business focused on the young and/or middle aged white customers. This was where the money was at. Now, thanks to great efforts towards recognising the many facets of diversity and the good that it brings us, more and more money is starting to be in the hands of people from a wide range of diverse backgrounds. In order to attract this wide variety of cultures, organisations must truly become multi-cultural themselves. Organisations that only employ certain groups of people in leadership and high visibility positions will not be tolerated by people of other cultures or background. These diverse people will spend their money at organisations that truly believe in diversity. Refer to the statistics - 14th Annual Gay and Lesbian Tourism Study in 2009 was compiled by Community Marketing, Inc. - For gay men and women, the average household income is $81,500 per year, almost 80% above the average U.S. household income of $46,326. - 40% of gay men reported household incomes in excess of $100,000 per year. 36% of lesbians reported household incomes in excess of $100,000 per year. Gay men and lesbians with household incomes of $250,000+ travel more, spend more and cruise more than other gays and lesbians and indicate they prefer places that are restful, luxury oriented, and either mostly LGBT or exclusively gay. Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases in the US including everything from cars to health care - Senior women age 50 and older control net worth of $19 trillion and own more than three-fourths of the nation’s financial wealth. – MassMutual Financial Group–2007 - The number of wealthy women investors in the U.S. is growing at a faster rate than that of men. In a two-year period, the number of wealthy women in the U.S. grew 68%, while the number of men grew only 36%. – The Spectrem Group SAY Building a business in a new country or region requires a level of cultural competence that a diverse workforce can help us gain. Different people value different things and awareness of these values may determine whether we do well with a new venture or even with our existing clients – while it may not be possible to always be aware of all the differences – being aware that “our” way may not be the only way & checking out the intercultural differences where necessary is very important. Could illustrate this with YouTube clips of companies that highlight cultural difference and competence e.g. HSBC bank
- SAY: So what is cultural competence - Read the first bullet SAY: Cultural competence is a huge topic and we could dedicate a workshop solely to it but the key point we would like to consider are the communication aspects of cultural competence. The main goal behind improving intercultural audiences is to pay special attention to specific areas of communication to enhance the effectiveness of the intercultural messages. These specific areas are broken down into three sub categories; Non-Verbal, Oral and Written messages. Non-Verbal contact involves everything from eye contact and facial expressions to the use of space. The two most common ways of non-verbally communicating is through eye contact and facial expressions. Eye contact influences the communication but can differ greatly in meaning between cultures. In Western Europe and the USA eye contact is interpreted as conveying interest and honesty. People who avoid eye contact when speaking are viewed in a negative light, withholding information and lacking in general confidence. However, in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia eye contact is seen as disrespectful and even challenging of one’s authority. Brief eye contact is seen as respectful and courteous. Facial expressions are universal throughout all cultures. Gestures – See next slide
- Gestures can be broken down into five subcategories; Emblems, Illustrators, Regulators, Affect Displays, and Adaptors. Emblems refer to sign language (such as the “Thumbs Up” which is one of the most recognised symbols in the world) and Illustrators mimic what we speak (such as gesturing how much time is left by holding up a certain amount of fingers). Regulators act as a way of conveying meaning through gestures (raising up one’s hand for instance indicates that one has a certain question about what was just said) and become more complicated since the same regulator can have different meanings across different cultures (making a circle with ones hand for instance in the Americas means O.K but in Japan the gesture is symbolic for money, and in France conveys the notion of worthlessness). Affect Displays and Adaptors, are the two the individual has very little to no control over. Affect Displays reveal emotions such as happiness (through a smile) or sadness (mouth trembling, tears) where Adaptors are more subtle such as a yawn or clenching fists in anger.
- SAY: The last Non-Verbal type of communication deals with communication through the space around us. Talking distance, how close people sit to one another and office space are all examples. For example, a production line worker will often have to make an appointment to see his supervisor however the supervisor is free to visit the production line workers at will. Oral and written communication is generally easier to learn, adapt and deal with in the business world for the simple fact that each language is unique. However, the one difficulty that comes into play is Paralanguage - language is what you say, paralanguage is how you say it. The same words should convey the same meaning, but the volume, rate, and emphasis placed on those words can change the meaning of the phrase. Think of the phrase “I would like to help you” and simply by placing the emphases on the words I, Like, Help, You in four different sentences changes the meaning of the phrase. What this tells us is that we need to consider that our way of interacting and interpreting the world may not always be the only way to see it and before doing business cross culturally we need to understand the nuances of the new culture. Facilitators note: this may be a logical place for a break in the workshop.
- SAY Diversity can be placed on a continuum – on one side we have basic compliance with the Employment Equality Acts where the focus is on legal compliance. Companies at this end of the continuum tend to be very concerned with operating within the law focusing more on the statutory obligation than the sentiment behind the legislation. Equally, the focus often concerns disadvantage and correcting prior wrongs rather than the benefits of difference. On the other side of the continuum, the focus is at a strategic level, on integrating individual differences into the organisation to benefit the individual and the organisation. It promotes the individuality of employees and the unique qualities they can bring to the organisation seeing difference not as a deficit but as a resource and ensuring that that difference is integrated throughout the organisation from recruitment to retirement. A one-dimensional focus is easy to cultivate in an organisation that employs homogenous individuals who fit a “this is how we’ve always done things around here” culture. However, a multidimensional approach is likely to be far superior given the wealth of different backgrounds and experiences that can be drawn on to solve problems, innovate and meet the needs of new and existing customers. Diversity in organisations can act like free market research as it offers the organisation an insight and understanding of the needs of the diverse customers and markets they face.
- SAY we’re going to do an exercise called what have you heard, what do you know? Facilitator note: Initially people will be concerned about not being politically correct when describing stereotypes – reassure people this does not have to be what you believe or even true but rather what you have heard or what you know about a particular group. DIRECT participants in small groups towards pre-prepared flipcharts/flipchart sheets around the room with various groups e.g.. Older people, Women, People with disabilities etc. Get each group to explain their thinking following the exercise & to put out the stereotypes that may exist – enable where possible the group to explain how this is not an accurate reflection
- SAY So if we know that this is something that is important for may reasons from fairness and equity all the way through to a company’s bottom line focus, why is there ever a difficulty in diversity? Sometimes it is due to lack of awareness, not thinking that may cause offense, not thinking of it from a different perspective other than your own. REFER to the slide and give some examples of where it can go wrong Banter – is it really a joke if someone gets hurt? Sickness reporting – use the example of generational differences and the appropriateness of texting your manager to say you are sick Terminology – “disability”, “people with different abilities”, “differently abled”, “disabled” – how do you know and how can you avoid causing offence – often this can lead to poor actions such as ignoring the individual rather than saying something insensitive/that would cause offence – and as a result causing greater issues. SAY when in doubt explain or ask Traditionally we subscribe to a very specific view of the world – good people are not biased and don’t discriminate while bad people are biased. If we can just find and fix the bad people it would be fine – if they were all as wise, noble or good as us they would “get it” like we do. BUT In a large number of cases problems occur due to unconscious bias which can lead to people assuming, presuming and generalising!
- SAY: So how do we define unconscious bias? READ THE FIRST TWO BULLETS ON THE SLIDE Our bias and prejudice are deeply rooted within us. From the moment when we are born, we learn about ourselves, our environment, and the world. Families, friends, peers, books, teachers, idols, and others influence us on what is right and what is wrong. These early learning's are deeply rooted within us and shape our perceptions about how we view things and how we respond to them. What we learn and experience gives us a subjective point of view known as bias. Our biases serve as filtering lenses that allow us to make sense of new information and experiences based on what we already know. Many of our bias are good as they allow us to assume that something is true without proof. Otherwise, we would have to start learning anew on everything that we do. But, if we allow our bias to shade our perceptions of what people are capable of, then the bias is harmful. We start prejudging others on what we think that they cannot do. SAY: We receive 11 million inputs at a time and can only process 40 at a time…therefore our unconscious helps us categorise and make sense of the world so that we are not overwhelmed…however this is where bias can creep in.
- SAY: Where people are concerned, these decisions are hard-wired into us. At earlier times in our history, determining who, or what, was coming up the path may have been a life or death decision. If it was a hostile animal, or a hostile tribe member, you might die. Our minds evolved to make these decisions very quickly, often before we even “thought about it.” (CDO Insights – August 2008, Volume 2, Issue 5 by Howard Ross, Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross, Inc) READ THE BULLET ON THE SLIDE SAY: Most of us believe that we make fair decisions which do not adversely impact certain groups and that our decisions based on a full set of information; however in most cases this is not true. Firstly we are unlikely to have access to perfect information and secondly because of our frame of reference. A frame of reference is the way we see the world and this is impacted by our expectations of situations (i.e. what we expect to happen or to see), what we have been told by others (i.e. the media or our parents and friends) as well as our past experiences (what has happened in the past).
- Please note below and throughout the presentation I have referenced materials where the information has been taken from. The references appear in brackets and italics e.g.. (Giving Notice: Why the Best and Brightest are Leaving the Workplace and HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM STAY," by Freada Kapor Klein (Jossey-Bass, 2007).) The purpose of these is purely to reference the material. SAY: Please spend a moment looking at the words on the screen … ASK: Did you read: THE CAT? Allow the audience to share their responses. SAY: In most cases people do read THE CAT. However on closer inspection, you will see that the H and A are not actually letters but rather identical, nonspecific symbols. The reason that most people read THE CAT is that our brain has filled in the information we need, using pattern recognition based on past experiences. “This is an inherent part of being human. At one time, this pattern recognition was a survival mechanism: Red mushrooms make you sick. Red mushrooms make you sick again. Stop eating red mushrooms. (Giving Notice: Why the Best and Brightest are Leaving the Workplace and HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM STAY," by Freada Kapor Klein (Jossey-Bass, 2007).) From a survival standpoint this is not a negative trait. It is a necessary one. We have all heard the saying, “it is better to be safe than sorry,” and to a large degree this is true. If you sense something coming at your head, you duck. And if later you find out it was only a shadow of a bird flying by the window, better to have ducked and not needed to than to ignore the shadow and later find out it was a heavy object! (CDO Insights – August 2008, Volume 2, Issue 5 by Howard Ross, Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross, Inc) But consider the example of THE CAT when your brain automatically filled in the information that was missing. And then consider this: What information is your brain implicitly providing when you walk into a conference room and see a person dressed a certain way, a person whose skin is darker or lighter, a person whose hair or size or style or age is different than what you are used to? A vast body of research has been conducted by esteemed universities such as Harvard, Yale, the University of Washington, the University of Virginia, MIT etc. and the results of this research all indicates the same thing: “unconscious or hidden beliefs – attitudes and biases beyond our regular perceptions of ourselves and others – underlie a great deal of our patterns of behaviour about diversity.” (CDO Insights – August 2008, Volume 2, Issue 5 by Howard Ross, Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross, Inc)
- SAY: Unconscious bias is a function of the world in which we live and the associations that we automatically make - so for example if you think of the word manager and automatically think male or think entrepreneur and automatically think female, these are functions of the world you live in. Research has found this still to be true today. Most people believe that they hold fewer biases than the average person - Similarly as aforementioned most people assume that patterns of discriminatory behaviour in organisations are conscious, and if people knew better they’d do the right thing so in other words good people are not biased they’re inclusive and bad people are the biased ones. This is based on the notion that people choose to discriminate because they harbour negative feelings towards some group or feelings of superiority about their own – and while this can sometimes be true, often we make decisions that discriminate without even realising we’re doing it. Unfortunately whether we behave in a discriminatory way intentionally or without negative intent the impact remains the same! In business, unconscious bias is used all the time, for example by money managers when understanding investor behaviour and exploiting stock pricing anomalies or by marketing managers when trying to attract certain types of consumers with certain types of promotions BUT few corporate strategists take into account the unconscious biases that they themselves have which affect their own strategic decision making. This can lead for example to that org culture problem and a barrier to workplace equality which may persist despite a general commitment to increasing diversity. Virtually every one of us is biased towards something, somebody or some group through the associations we use.
- SAY: Please spend a moment looking at the picture on the screen … ASK: What age is the woman? Allow the audience to share their responses. SAY: Usually people see different things – both are correct just cognitive illusions created by our brains and biases– we don’t usually even consider that we might be seeing something different than what is obviously right in front of us and what obviously everyone sees!
- SAY: Please spend a moment looking at the words on the screen … ASK: How many ladies do you see? Allow the audience to share their responses. SAY: Now clearly if this is just a few silly illusions then who cares but what if it determines whether or not you will hire the most qualified candidate for the job, make the correct strategic decision, give an employee a fair performance review or hire the right CEO? It doesn’t just apply to “them” it applies to all of us!
- SAY: So clearly this is an issue that dramatically impacts our organisations and almost all of it is invisible to us. It can affect all aspects of the employment relationship and even how we treat and interact with our customers. REFER to the bullets SAY For example, it can cause some people to see women as a riskier appointment (especially women of child bearing years), seeing non-Irish nationals as less likely to fit into our way of doing things, seeing older people as less open to change and flexibility and so on
- SAY: So how can our patterns of behaviour about diversity - how can our unconscious bias - affect the work environment? Research conducted by Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable on “The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income” found that SAY: Why does this happen? Clearly when companies conduct a CEO search they do not advertise for a tall guy and yet the numbers speak for themselves. Every day each one of us makes small judgments about individuals based on everyday assumptions that arise automatically. The critical point: brief informal interactions accumulate and ultimately impact formal employment decisions and can have a powerful cumulative effects on careers. This is particularly true when it comes to Gender Bias. Referencing The first bullet point comes from CDO Insights – August 2008, Volume 2, Issue 5 by Howard Ross, Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross, Inc ¹ Malcolm Gladwell discusses this phenomenon in his book, Blink, based on research conducted by Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable. ² Judge, Timothy A., and Cable, Daniel M., “The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income,” Journal of Applied Psychology, June 2004, p. 435 SECOND BULLET POINT SAY: Gender bias, specifically, is our assumptions about the characteristics of men and women. For example, men generally are assumed to be assertive, reliable, competent and committed to their careers. Research has shown that men benefit more from their accomplishments than women, and even small imbalances accumulate over time and cause women to advance at a slower rate then men. The following are the most common patterns of gender bias encountered in the workplace. Maternal wall The strongest and most explicit bias in today’s workplace is against mothers. Generally, maternal wall bias is triggered when motherhood becomes obvious to managers and colleagues. This typically occurs when a woman announces that she is pregnant, returns from maternity leave, or adopts a part-time or flexible schedule. Maternal wall bias stems from assumptions that mothers are not as competent as others, are not as committed to their jobs, and belong at home because they can’t be both good mothers and good workers. Fathers may run up against a comparable set of assumptions when they take an active role in caring for their families. She isn’t competent enough The truth of the common saying “women must try twice as hard to achieve half as much” is documented by more than a quarter century of social science. Women need to provide more evidence of job-related skills than their male counterparts before they are viewed as competent. Additionally, women are allowed fewer mistakes than men before they are judged incompetent. (This section is taken from an article called Hidden Gender Bias in the Workplace and is written by Consuela Pinto and Joan Williams from UC Hastings College of Law / http://www.uchastings.edu) When the term ‘manager’ is used which leads 80% of people to think of a male (Kandola 1999).
- SAY: A number of studies point directly to how unconscious bias impacts business decisions. If we look at just the research on recruitment and cultural diversity alone we find in a groundbreaking study by the Equality Authority and ESRI last year, the first of its kind to be conducted in Ireland, that…. Job applicants with identifiably non-Irish names are less than half as likely to be called for interview as those with typical Irish names. The research team sent pairs of matched CVs in response to 240 separate job adverts. The two fictitious applicants had equivalent qualifications, skills and experience – all gained in Ireland. The only difference was the name at the top of the CVs. Candidates with Irish names were more than twice as likely to be called to interview as those with minority names. The research found a similar level of discrimination against those with an identifiably African, Asian or European (German) name. This level of discrimination was found to be consistent across the three minorities (African, Asian or European), three occupations (administration, accountancy, retail sales) and different business sectors. International research has similarly examined such studies and found when everything else on the CV is the same males were selected over females, White/Asian American over African/Mexican American Even when higher quality CV’s were used minorities received fewer call-backs than white candidates with lower quality CV’s And this is just the tip of the iceberg with similar research having been carried out on promotions, performance reviews etc. and the effects of bias
- READ the slide
- SAY: Up Until now we have been speaking about individual unconscious bias but unconscious behaviour is not just individual; it influences organisational culture as well READ THE SECOND, THIRD BULLETS ON THE SLIDE Organisational culture is more or less an enduring collection of basic assumptions and ways of interpreting things that a given organisation has invented, discovered, or developed in learning to cope with its internal and external influences. Unconscious organisational patterns, or “norms” of behaviour, exert an enormous influence over organisational decisions, choices, and behaviours. “Flexible work” arrangements are one area in which the conflict between our conscious choices and the “organisational unconscious” is coming to a head
- READ THE FIRST BULLET ON THE SLIDE “Flexible work” arrangements are one area in which the conflict between our conscious choices and the “organisational unconscious” is coming to a head SAY: In many companies, flexible work arrangements are often established to allow employees, especially parents, to meet personal or family needs. In principle having a flexible work policy makes business sense: turnover among young, talented parents can cause an organisation to lose some of its best employees and can cost a lot of money. However, when employees actually take advantage of flexible work policies, they can often be viewed by others – including co-workers, bosses, and company leadership – as a “less committed,” “less valuable,” or “less desirable” member of the team. The “official rules” say that flexible work arrangements are acceptable, but in actuality a conflict exists. While the organization consciously acknowledges that offering flexible work arrangements is the “right” thing to do and may even help increase retention and employee satisfaction, the organizational unconscious believes differently. CDO Insights – August 2008, Volume 2, Issue 5 by Howard Ross, Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross, Inc READ THE SECOND BULLET ON THE SLIDE Conflicts such as this can leave employees frustrated by the feeling that their leaders and the company as a whole are disingenuous in their statements, when in actuality the leaders may not see the conflict themselves. Are there any examples of this happening?
- SAY Lets take a look a number of different examples and tell me whether you think discrimination or bias could be at play in this organisational scenario? READ in each case read the scenario and potential answers – 1st mouse click is the question, 2nd mouse click is the answer
- Explanation - She says “a lot of them” referring to specific examples not all which would be stereotyped generalisation.
- “They” – prevents you see people as individuals
- NOTE: This one is harder to call because it is positive but still “they, always, never, everybody” – these are all absolutes and should not be allowed. Other similar ones you hear are “all women are emotional”, “all men are sexist” etc.
- SAY: Given the enormous impact of unconscious patterns on both our individual and organisational behaviour, the question is How do we deal with unconscious bias in the workplace? SPEAK THROUGH BULLET POINTS 1 -6 Recognise that you have biases and understand that it is absolutely normal to be biased. Our brains make mistakes without us even knowing it Identify what your biases are (some can be positive and some can be negative). We are all biased and becoming aware of our own biases will help us mitigate them in the workplace. Notice your defensiveness, accept the discomfort of unlearning and relearning different things. Dissect your biases: Explore the significance and unconscious effect of early messages you received as you grew up about different people, e.g.. men, women, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, religions, etc. Decide which biases you will address first. Review every aspect of the employment life cycle for hidden bias – screening resumes, interviews, onboarding, assignment process, mentoring programs, performance evaluation, identifying high performers, promotion and termination. Support projects that encourage positive images of persons of colour, GLBT and women. Distribute stories and pictures widely that portray stereotype-busting images – posters, newsletters, annual reports, speaker series, podcasts. Many studies show that the mere positive image of specific groups of people can combat our hidden bias. Identify, support and collaborate with effective programs that increase diversity in the pipeline. Reward employees who volunteer with these groups, create internships and other bridges, and celebrate the stories of those who successfully overcome obstacles. Lead by example - the behaviour of leaders is by far the biggest influence on how others will behave and, therefore, a critical driver of the change to a more inclusive culture.
- SAY: Our ability to identify patterns helps set us apart while also carrying with it a risk of misinterpreting conceptual relationships. To overcome our biases its worth: READ bullets 7 to 9 7. Considering facts in a different light and testing alternative hypotheses – just because we always did it like that or just because for example you had to have a financial background in the past to be CEO doesn’t necessarily mean it has to stay like that – there may be another way of doing things 8. Check your culture for what behaviours it rewards – if you say you want innovation but you punish risk taking you may be sending mixed messages – similarly with flexible working – having a policy that is counter to the reality of the org culture frustrates people 9. Increase the diversity of teams, meetings etc. to promote thoughtful decision-making – when participants see issues from completely different perspectives it often reflects the presence of unconscious biases amongst them and hearing others out helps you address and increase your awareness of bias Finally - Encourage debate and dissent – not for the sake of it but to get through the corporate politics – this requires a climate of trust.
- SAY: Should you wish to test your own unconscious biases it is worth checking out the Harvard University project which is an international project and which allows you test yourself on various areas like sexual orientation, race, gender etc.
- Facilitator note: This is an optional slide that can be customised to suit what your organisations stage in diversity and inclusion is or it can be removed. Suggestions are outlined to be used as relevant. READ bullets – specific target groups can be inserted e.g.. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Network
- Facilitators notes: Final opportunity to sum up the workshop and the learning objectives you wish delegates to take away. If there are future steps to be engaged in this is an opportunity to build expectation with delegates about what comes next.