Nowadays, diversity is all around us. We live amongst people of different backgrounds, genders, and ages. We know that diversity in the workforce helps organizations grow. On top of that, diverse teams also make better decisions. So, becoming a more diverse company should be a top priority, right? For many companies it is. But for some reason, reaching those diversity and inclusion goals isn’t as easy as many companies think. This is often due to the so-called unconscious bias, like age bias. Outside of our conscious awareness and control, we hold associations that stand in the way of increasing diversity.
Examples of unconscious bias like age bias
Becoming a more diverse company requires a change of the organizational culture. Obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight. To create a culture where diversity and inclusion are embraced, unconscious bias needs to be eliminated. Here are some examples of unconscious bias that have to be dealt with:
- Age bias
Recruiters often think that hiring people older than 50 is a risk. They are more likely to fall ill, and they aren’t very flexible anymore. Flexible in terms of their willingness to learn new skills, adapt to new technologies, and ability to work shifts. - Gender bias
Women are less ambitious than men. Especially when they have children, women won’t want to work full time anymore. They will want to stay home more to care for their children. - Discrimination based on religion
Women who wear a headscarf are very compliant and less suitable for a leadership role. - Discrimination based of physical condition
People with an occupational disability require a lot of extra guidance and are less productive.
If recruiters, managers and other staff are afflicted with unconscious bias, it’s hard to increase diversity. Recruiters and managers often unconsciously hire people who are like them. They claim they want a more diverse team. But, unconscious bias prevents this from happening.
Prevent age bias and increase diversity by using Textmetrics
Increasing diversity in a company starts with the recruitment process. So, this is where the impact of unconscious bias needs to be eliminated first. The Textmetrics platform can be a big help here. It promotes inclusive writing. You can use it to write job descriptions that are free of any bias. Your job descriptions have a gender-neutral tone of voice and appeal to men and women alike. And to people of all ages. They have just the right tone of voice to reach everyone in your target group. Exactly what you need to increase diversity.
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