What is unconscious bias in the workplace?

Unconscious bias in the workplace is the set of learned attitudes, assumptions, and stereotypes that shape your judgments about colleagues and candidates without you realizing. “Young people are great with technology.” “Men make better CEOs.” These beliefs form through social conditioning, and they influence how you perceive others and the decisions you make—even when you’d never consciously discriminate.

Left unchecked, unconscious bias prevents diversity, unfairly favors some candidates over others, and limits the success of teams and whole organizations.

This article covers the most common types of unconscious bias and how to overcome them.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious bias is a set of learned attitudes or assumptions that affect you without your knowledge. It relates to your views or the social stereotypes you believe about other people or groups.

Many of us would like to believe we’re unaffected by biases, but everyone has them, whether they know it or not.

According to the University of California San Francisco’s Office of Diversity and Outreach, unconscious biases can be more common than conscious ones.

The Office explains: “Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing. Unconscious bias is far more prevalent than conscious prejudice and often incompatible with one’s conscious values.”

Unconscious bias has ramifications well beyond hiring choices. It affects the content people consume, where they choose to live, and even how they vote. Ultimately, it touches every part of society.

How does unconscious bias form?

Unconscious bias forms naturally as we grow up. Everything we’re exposed to gradually creates our view of the world—our upbringing, the media we consume, where we live, our ethnic and cultural background, and the events we’re part of.

For example, say you regularly hear about crimes committed by a particular racial group on the news. You might unconsciously assume that members of this group are more likely to commit crimes. The truth is typically more nuanced. The news, the police force, and society at large may themselves be biased toward people in this group, exaggerating the perceived likelihood of crime—a cyclic problem.

If you’re unaware of your biases, they’ll play out when you interact with others and when you make decisions.

The dangers of unconscious bias at work

Unconscious bias can be very problematic in the workplace. It can lead to unfair decision-making and mistreatment of some workers, and it perpetuates disadvantages for many minority groups.

Relying on biases reduces diversity in an organization’s workforce. That means less diverse viewpoints, creativity, and innovation. Diversity promotes productivity, employee engagement, innovation, and revenue, so it’s critical to your organization’s success.

McKinsey’s research has repeatedly found that companies with greater gender diversity are significantly more likely to outperform their peers financially. Ethnic and cultural diversity also correlate strongly with profitability.

Types of unconscious bias and how to overcome it

The first step to overcoming unconscious bias is becoming aware of it. Otherwise, biases are simply too easy to perpetuate unintentionally.

There are many common forms of bias in the workplace. Here are some examples, along with ways to overcome each one.

Gender bias

Gender bias occurs when certain stereotypes or historical roles are associated with genders—typically when male candidates and stereotypically male qualities are favored over female candidates in the workplace.

Consider a board of directors deciding between two CEO candidates: a woman and a man with similar skills and experience. The board chooses the man on the assumption that he’ll be stronger, more assertive, and perform better.

Gender bias creates inequality in organizations, reinforces hierarchy, and feeds the gender wage gap. Women in the US still earn roughly 17% less than men on average—a gap that’s narrowed only slightly in two decades.

Avoiding gender bias matters everywhere it occurs—in the workplace, on the sports field, in community groups, and within households.

Here are some key ways to avoid gender bias:

• Becoming aware of where you may hold gender bias.
• Making positive choices to treat all people, regardless of their gender, fairly and equally.
• Setting standards at work to ensure all candidates are treated fairly. This might include extending paternity leave so fathers can assist with parenting duties, creating diversity quotas so teams are balanced and representative of society, or balancing genders at the top level to create a fair working environment from the top down.

Age bias

Age bias, or ageism, happens when younger people are favored over older adults or held in higher regard.

This often occurs in hiring, where younger candidates are assumed to be high-energy workers with strong technical abilities. Meanwhile, older workers get overlooked, even when they bring years of experience and know-how.

Age bias is a big workplace issue. AARP surveys consistently find that around two in three workers aged 45 and older have seen or experienced age discrimination at work.

Unlike many societies, Western cultures commonly value youth over age and experience. To avoid age bias:

• Become aware of your own age-related biases at work or in society in general.
• Review your organization’s demographics to determine if there’s an issue.
• Create policies that promote a diversely aged workforce, ensuring older workers are hired, promoted, and valued.
• Provide training that teaches the value of hiring employees of all ages.

Racial bias

Racial bias occurs when a person is discriminated against because of their race or cultural background.

Racial bias in the workplace is common. Gallup has found that around one in four Black and Hispanic workers report experiencing discrimination at work. It might look like a Caucasian candidate being favored, or a candidate from a Hispanic background being passed over for promotion despite having the experience for a more senior role.

• Train employees to recognize racial bias when and where it occurs.
• Use technology to remove demographic information from hiring applications so decisions are based on skills and experience instead of race and culture.
• Implement diversity goals to encourage hiring and promoting employees from minority backgrounds.
• Establish and encourage employee resource groups so employees can share their backgrounds and experiences.
• Offer training and development programs with racially diverse participation.

Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the psychological tendency to affirm information and situations that align with your current beliefs. It means cherry-picking events, information, and ideas that reinforce your sense of the world while limiting your exposure to diverse views.

Confirmation bias persists even when data refutes your beliefs. It’s particularly problematic because it reassures you rather than helping you expand your worldview.

• Be open to being wrong. When you’re entrenched in your views, you restrict your ability to learn, grow, and see things from new perspectives.
• At work, gather information from multiple sources before making important decisions.
• Encourage diverse opinions from team members. Make sure everyone has had a chance to weigh in.
• Support research- and data-driven decision-making.

Conformity bias (“group think”)

Imagine your manager railroads a meeting and pitches a new direction. You don’t agree, but your teammates appear to be going along with it. Are you brave enough to openly disagree?

Peer pressure is incredibly powerful. Many people find conforming with the group easier than sticking their neck out, even when it goes against their beliefs.

If you have conformity bias, you’ll tend to agree with the group mindset. This limits ideas, creativity, and differences, and can severely inhibit innovation in the workplace.

• Encourage a culture of sharing and questioning so employees speak up and say what they really think. Give all team members the opportunity to have their say.
• Use anonymous contribution options or surveys to understand how team members actually feel before the group can sway them.
• Encourage and reward healthy conflict and debate.

Name bias

Name bias occurs when people prefer or value certain names over others. A common and problematic example is favoring Anglo-sounding names over names from other cultural backgrounds.

Name bias may occur when names are hard for Westerners to pronounce or are associated with a particular cultural group or country, leading managers or employees to make negative or unhelpful assumptions about that person.

Name bias can cause companies to miss out on talented candidates from diverse backgrounds, limiting both the candidates and the organizations themselves.

• Become aware of the assumptions you make about someone based on their name.
• Ensure candidates are considered based on their qualifications and experience, not their name or cultural background.
• Use technology that removes candidates’ names from the application process so decisions rest on skills and experience alone.
• Use diverse interview and selection panels so diversity is prioritized in hiring decisions.

The halo effect

A lesser-known unconscious bias is the halo effect—a term coined by Edward Thorndike. The halo effect is an impression of someone based on particular favorable qualities or traits, which causes their less impressive qualities to be overlooked.

We often see the halo effect with celebrities and sports stars who excel in one field. They may receive preferential treatment in general society even when they have characteristics most would view as undesirable.

It also occurs in the workplace—say, when a candidate attended a prestigious school or won a top award but lacks the qualities they need to excel in the role.

• When hiring, ensure people have the experience they need for the role. Don’t let one stand-out achievement cloud your judgment.
• Use a structured hiring and evaluation process that weighs a candidate’s skills, performance, and background against a scoring system. Allow multiple people to take part in the assessment.
• Use a standard performance evaluation program so all employees are assessed on the same criteria. Don’t overvalue a particular employee or put someone on a pedestal.

The horns effect

The horns effect sits at the other end of the spectrum from the halo effect. It occurs when you focus too much on one negative attribute and overlook a person’s other important characteristics or achievements.

The horns effect could influence a hiring decision if a candidate was previously laid off, with the hirer assuming they weren’t successful in their previous role. In reality, the decision may have been out of their control—and the candidate may have everything they need to succeed in your role.

• While assessing negative traits is important, challenge your first impressions to develop a holistic understanding of the person.
• Negative events can be situational and the result of many factors, so ask questions and gather more information.
• Base hiring and other work-related decisions on evidence, not assumptions.
• Use a structured hiring process that evaluates several criteria over a period of time.
• Use 360-degree feedback when delivering performance assessments.

Recency bias

Recency bias occurs when recent events are seen as more important than those further in the past—usually because recent events are easier to recall and therefore feel more relevant.

But recent events shouldn’t dictate decisions. Decisions should be backed by data.

Recency bias could lead a team to abandon a historically successful project over one recent mishap. It also shows up in hiring, when decisions rest on one recent interview rather than all interviews collectively.

• Don’t make decisions based on assumptions or recent events. Base them on data and accurate information.
• Human memory is unreliable. Take notes, measure events, and collate data for better analysis.
• For performance reviews, look back at a standard period (for example, 12 months) rather than relying too heavily on current performance.

Status quo bias

Status quo bias is a preference for things staying the same. Some people are wary of change—even when it promises to improve their lives.

Following the status quo may feel safer, but it causes stagnation within an organization and reduces creativity and innovation.

Status quo bias could occur when one leader has always made all the decisions without using data. Team members may hesitate to rock the boat, even when current methods are suppressing financial success.

• Encourage a culture of change across the business to inspire teams to constantly improve.
• Boost education in change management to help employees navigate and feel more comfortable with continual improvements.
• Involve employees in the communication and planning of change.
• Discuss the benefits of change and the consequences of not changing.

How do you identify unconscious bias?

Identifying unconscious bias is challenging because it relates to long-held beliefs, attitudes, and preferences we’re unaware of.

Education about common biases helps people spot where unconscious bias occurs. Pay attention to commonly held beliefs, question first impressions of others, and get curious about how you may treat people differently.

In the workplace, technology can help remove bias from the hiring process. Unconscious bias training for employees can also highlight where bias may occur.

The critical need for unconscious bias training

Unconscious bias is just that—unconscious—so raising awareness is essential. Unconscious bias training highlights where bias occurs and teaches strategies to avoid it, helping ensure bias doesn’t dictate decision-making or inhibit diversity.

Creating a dynamic and diverse workforce

For an organization to be truly innovative, deliver on employee experience, and satisfy customers’ changing needs, you’ll need a workforce that’s not only diverse but dynamic, too.

Unconscious bias hampers diversity and kills creativity. In contrast, teams that are diverse in gender, race, name, and cultural background—and encouraged to challenge the status quo—are more likely to drive change and bring new ideas. That boosts the success of the business as a whole.