This article originally appeared in [https://www.businessinsider.com/women-in-senior-roles-workplace-equality-2017-3] and belongs to the creators.
Most people would not consciously decide to hire candidates based on whether they remind them of themselves.
But one unconscious bias – affinity bias – may lead people to favour candidates who are like themselves, research shows.
Affinity or similarity bias is where people seek out those who share their backgrounds, group membership, or experiences.
If hiring managers and boards of directors are made up of mostly men who unconsciously engage in such bias, it stands to reason that more men than women will continue to be hired and promoted – particularly men who share the same background with current managers. This only serves to perpetuate the cycle of men outnumbering women in leadership positions.
Gender targets, de-identifying CVs and structured interviews are but a few of the strategies that can help eliminate such bias in recruiting employees.
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