Hidden costs of unconscious bias and how we can tackle them

DESPITE increased corporate focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, the state of female leadership today is still found wanting, with female to male leadership in the Asia Pacific region in 2021 remaining slightly under 28 per cent.

Perhaps it's time for us to dig deeper and tackle a hidden yet difficult barrier to address - unconscious biases.

It's human nature for us to gravitate towards people like us. But sometimes, this instinct - known as affinity bias - can be harmful. For example, when male decision makers find themselves relating more to male candidates who come from a similar background, and thus pick them over an equally qualified female candidate. An Asia Pacific study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) reported that when asked if male managers were less likely to select women than men, and less likely to promote women than men, more women agreed than men, with a 29 percentage-point difference for each question.