A New Way to Combat Bias at Work

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2020

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joan Williams, professor and the founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, says that it's extremely difficult for organizations to rid their workforces of the unconscious biases that can prevent women and minorities from advancing. But it's not so hard for individual managers to interrupt bias within their own teams. She offers specific suggestions for how bosses can shift their approach in four areas: hiring, meetings, assignments, and reviews/promotions. Leaders who employ these practices, she argues, are able to embrace and reap the advantages of diversity, even in the absence of larger organizational directives. Williams is the author of the HBR article "How the Best Bosses Interrupt Bias on Their Teams."

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone it's Kurt we need your help with our annual survey this is your last chance to help us get to know you so we can make idea cast even better for you
0:09.8	it's easy just go to HBR.org
0:13.0	podcast survey.
0:15.0	Again, that's HBR.org slash podcast survey.
0:19.0	And, thanks for listening. Welcome to the HBR Ideacast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Allison Beard. Most good bosses want diverse bias-free teams.
0:49.0	They want men and women of all different ages representing
0:54.4	a variety of cultures and races. In practice of course that kind of melting pot is
0:59.2	hard to create. In some areas industries and functions it can seem nearly impossible and then there's the other problem
1:06.0	Even if you achieve the kind of diversity you want you might struggle to manage the group in a way that makes everyone feel included and valued
1:13.5	The kinds of bias prevention programs that many companies use
1:16.9	can be highly ineffective.
1:18.8	Bias runs deep and it's hard to eradicate.
1:21.6	But according to our guest today, you can interrupt it pretty easily.
1:25.4	The leaders she studied do this in three areas, hiring, day-to-day management, and talent development.
1:31.5	While workplaces might not ever be bias-free, they can become better if bosses learn to head
1:36.0	off anti-diversity thinking at the past.
1:39.1	She's here now to walk us through the steps.
1:41.6	Joan Williams is a professor and the founding director of the
1:43.9	Center for Work Life Law at the University of California's Hastings College of the
1:47.8	Law and the author of the HBO article How the Best Bosses Interrupt By Us. Joan, welcome to the show. article, how the best bosses interrupt by us.
1:53.0	Joan, welcome to the show.
1:54.8	Delighted to be here, Allison. So let's start with a brief refresher. What are some of the common types of bias that we see in the workplace?
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