Gender bias has existed in the workplace since the workplace came into existence. The issue of gender inequality has improved with each decade, but it is still present. For example, in the United States, women are paid about 25 percent less than their male peers. Ben Waber, contributor to Bloomberg, wrote, “A mere 4.2 percent of chief executive officers at Fortune 500 companies are women.” In Canada, the amount of money women make on the dollar compared to men is even lower than in the U.S. – about 70.4 cents. According to the National Association of Japanese Canadians, this percentage was higher in the 1990’s than it is today. Each year, companies spend millions of dollars settling gender discrimination lawsuits. Statistics like these are, for lack of a better word, terrifying.
Will gender bias in the workplace ever end? If so, when?
The Beauty of Blind Hiring Practices
The war on gender bias is ages old. However, today we have a weapon in our arsenal that no other generation has ever had: technology. Tech tools, of all things, can promote gender equality in the workplace. How? By promoting blind hiring practices.
A blind hiring process is a beautiful thing. It facilitates more frequent hiring of women and minorities. It brings together a diverse and skilled workforce. It has the power to even the playing field in the corporate world for all job candidates. Blind hiring is radical, but effective in eliminating gender bias.
One great thing about blind hiring is that it prevents a company from relying solely on a human’s imperfect judgment. Clair Cain Miller, writer for The New York Times Magazine, wrote, “…after decades of research on the topic, humans just aren’t that good at hiring. Hiring now resembles choosing a romantic partner more than an employee, says Lauren Rivera, an associate professor of management and sociology at Northwestern and the author of the study.”
A company that wants to diversify its workforce should consider implementing blind hiring. A quick way to do this is with tech tools.
Managers, Fight Gender Bias with Tech Tools
Just one manager can’t end gender bias in the workplace. However, he or she can make a dent in it by utilizing tech tools like these…
- Calibration – Calibration is a performance-management tool crafted to help supervisors objectively assess employees. In the next few months Calibration will begin to alert those in management positions to gender bias problems. For example, this tool will let a manager know “if all of the employees designated ‘high potential’ are males, or if a woman who went on maternity leave was demoted,” states Alison Denisco.
- Accenture’s new technology – Have you heard of Accenture’s technology prototype that addresses pay gaps in the freelance market? This tech tool was created to help employers do the following:
- Post gender-neutral job ads
- Equally vet all candidates
- See where diverse candidates are dropping out of the application process
- Find relevant comparable salary/hourly wage data
Learn more about this amazing new tool here.
- Unitive – Unitive is a type of software designed to counteract any sort of unconscious bias an employer may have. “Programs such as Unitive aid hiring managers in constructing a job post, reviewing resumes, and performing structured, quantifiable interviews. Unitive launched in 2015, and hundreds of companies now use it,” wrote Denisco.
Is your company using tech tools like these to fight gender bias?
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