Workrowd

We’re wrapping up our series on bias at work, after covering gender bias, racial bias, disability bias, heterosexual bias, age bias, and trans bias. We hope you’ve found it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Wanting to support employees from underrepresented communities and avoid implicit bias in the workplace is one thing. Knowing how to do it – and putting that knowledge into practice – is something else entirely.

It can be easy to feel bogged down and like you have too much to do. 

But if you were a member of an underrepresented group (or a different underrepresented group), imagine how you’d feel working somewhere that didn’t notice you experience the world differently. 

It’d make you feel even more excluded than you already did. 

You wouldn’t feel supported, meaning you’d be less productive in your role. It could impact your mental health, and you may decide to go work somewhere else instead.

So, with that in mind, here are some simple (often common sense!) ways that your business can take steps to counter bias at work, and show you really do support employees.

Listen 

Listening is one of those skills that everyone thinks they have, but that most people are actually pretty terrible at. 

If you interrupt people, you’re not listening. If you try to project your point of view on to someone, or tell them they’re wrong, you’re not listening. You’re trying to control the conversation.

Listening is about shutting up and paying attention to what the other person(s) has to say. 

You may not like what they’re saying. 

It may make you uncomfortable or even a little anxious. 

But it’s only through listening and challenging our own opinions and beliefs that we grow as people and business owners.

Even if we disagree with what we’re hearing.

So, the next time an employee from an underrepresented community comes to you with feedback, a query, or a complaint, listen. Then consider how you can take action against bias at work.

Change your hiring practices

The typical hiring process we’re all used to of submitting a resume, doing an interview or two, then getting a job offer (or not), is outdated and inaccessible. It also leads to biases against many underrepresented communities.

From blind resume screening to group activities that allow you to observe someone’s skills rather than asking them to describe their abilities, there’s more than one way to hire a new employee.

Have a reporting system

There has to be a way for employees to report any issues that they experience. This especially applies to instances of bias at work.

Ideally, you should give employees the option to report anonymously. Not everyone will want their name attached to an issue for fear of retaliation. That doesn’t mean the issue should go unreported, though. Journalists never give up their sources for a reason.

Believe your employees

It’s not unheard of for an employee to draw attention to issues of bias at work and get ignored. 

Or worse, the person who raised the issue gets punished instead of the person causing the issue.

Don’t be that business. Be the business that supports and believes your employees, punishing the person who committed the offense, not the whistleblower.

Send sensible surveys

Too many times, I’ve seen businesses ask employees to provide feedback on their jobs and employers via questionnaire…

…then require the employee to submit that questionnaire to their manager, who’ll forward it to HR.

If an employee is having issues with their manager, they’re not going to raise it somewhere their manager can see. And that manager may well delete what the employee has said about them, then go on to make their life even more difficult.

A simple solution to this is to get employees to send their responses directly to HR.

Or make sure that HR is accessible enough for employees to feel like they can talk to someone if/when they have a problem with bias at work.

Be flexible

What works for one employee may not work for another. 

Some differently abled employees won’t be able to use the stairs, for example. 

Other employees may need a more supportive chair or a filter on their monitor. There are plenty of minor changes you can implement to support employees in the workplace.

Offering employees the option to work from home is another example. It opens up your talent pool, encourages homemakers back into the workplace (many of whom would consider a return to work if they could work from home, instead of needing to be in an office), and it can save you money on office overheads. 

Many businesses still assume they can’t trust employees to work from home. But if you feel you can’t trust your employees when they work from home, well, you have bigger problems…

Put policies in place

There are many areas where businesses don’t have to have policies in place, but where doing so can protect both the organization and its employees. 

Policies on issues like menopause and transgender rights aren’t required, but they mean that when an employee goes through menopause, they know what to expect from you. They mean that when a trans person considers applying for a role at your company, they can clearly see you’re going to support them – and what sort of support they will receive. 

The clearer and more accessible you make these policies, the more supported employees will feel.

Build a diverse culture

The more diverse your culture is, the more welcoming it will be to everyone. When a Black woman walks into a room full of white men, it immediately makes her the odd one out. When a wheelchair user is asked to meet his colleagues on the third floor of an office without access to an elevator, it makes him feel excluded.

The more diverse your company’s culture is, the more mindful everyone will be of these types of issues and the impact it can have on someone’s mental and physical health.

Diverse company cultures are also more productive, make more money, and they’re doing more about climate change.

So, tell me, what’s the downside to a diverse company culture?

Conclusion

Countering bias at work really boils down to two things: building a diverse culture and listening to every employee. 

Because you never know which employee will have an idea that could completely alter your business’s trajectory for the better. 

They may have the perfect way to solve a problem you’ve been stuck on for months. Because they aren’t a part of the “in” crowd though, they’ve never been given the chance to share their thoughts. 

Sometimes all it takes is a new perspective to remind you of what you could achieve.

Building a truly inclusive company culture is key to helping your team members counter bias at work. Creating opportunities for your people to get to know each other beyond the surface level will not only help them overcome their own biases, but will also ensure they feel comfortable calling out issues when they see them. If you want to drive real belonging at your organization, check out Workrowd’s platform, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Welcome back to our series on systemic bias in the workplace. Over the course of several weeks, we’re spotlighting various categories of bias, including gender bias, racial bias, disability bias, heterosexual bias, age bias, and now trans bias and transgender discrimination in the workplace. Our aim is to add to the ongoing conversation and help everyone build more inclusive environments. We hope you find it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

60% of transgender people have experienced some form of discrimination in the workplace. 38% have experienced it from colleagues, 25% from management, and 29% during job interviews.

Which really makes it unsurprising that 53% have felt the need to hide their trans status from colleagues.

But why, in 2022, is this still happening? And what can businesses do to prevent transphobia and transgender discrimination in the workplace?

The ugly stats

The unemployment rate for transgender adults is twice that of cisgender adults.

Even if they are in employment, cisgender adults make 32% more per year, regardless of whether a trans person has similar—or higher—education levels.

Not only do trans people earn less, but two-thirds of them remain in the closet at work. 

Sadly, they feel like employers support them less than their cisgender colleagues in the workplace. Given the stats we’ve already looked at, is that really surprising?

Overcoming transgender discrimination in the workplace to include more trans people could create a $12 billion boost to annual consumer spending. 

It would help businesses to really understand their market, and give them more diverse opinions to solve their customers’ problems. Which may also give them a competitive advantage.

Let’s not forget that diverse companies are significantly more profitable!

A long way to go

Even though the UK’s Equality Act (2010) should protect LBGT people from workplace discrimination, a 2018 report found that 43% of businesses were unsure if they’d hire a trans person, and almost a third said they’d be “less likely” to hire a trans person.

The retail sector had the highest number of businesses unlikely to hire a trans person, at 47%. IT was close behind with 45%. 

Construction and engineering were the most agreeable to the idea, but even then, 25% of businesses reported they’d be unlikely to hire a trans person.

That’s still a large percentage of the industry that’s closed off to the idea of hiring someone because of their gender. These businesses are just perpetuating transgender discrimination in the workplace.

The trouble with ‘culture fit’

Unsurprisingly, only 3% of businesses have an equal opportunities policy that welcomes transgender people to apply for roles. Which could be off-putting for potential candidates because they’ll have no idea whether their colleagues will welcome and support them if they join.

Only 8% of that small group of businesses that have a trans hiring policy believe trans people deserve the same rights to a job as everyone else. 

This stat seems odd to me, but it came from the same survey as the industry stats. It seems to suggest that even the businesses with a trans hiring policy in place may only have it as a form of lip service. I really hope that’s me being cynical, but then, it gets worse.

Only 4% believe they have a diverse enough workplace culture where trans people can “fit in.”

If you hire someone purely based on cultural fit, you end up with a culture of zombies. Everyone thinks, looks, and acts the same way. Innovation becomes harder and groupthink becomes more common.

Hiring someone based on cultural fit alone isn’t an option anymore. 

You want someone who’s different because they’re the very skills, opinions, and attitudes that your business lacks. If you embrace them, they’ll be the ones who help you to outperform your competitors.

There really isn’t a downside to avoiding employing the same person over and over again.

What can employers do?

Leaders within a business need to set an example. If they’re active supporters of the trans community, and they hire trans employees, the rest of the company will follow. And if someone doesn’t support these decisions, they don’t belong in the new environment.

Creating a diverse workforce requires a mindset shift from those at the very top of the business. That mindset will trickle down over time.

If leaders don’t set an example, employees will believe they can get away with discriminatory attitudes, policies, and hiring processes because they either don’t know that they’re doing it, or they’re still full of prejudices and don’t see a reason to change. 

Many people don’t have the right language to talk about transgender experiences, or they worry about offending someone. Meaning that transgender experiences get ignored or erased.

The transgender community has a lot more visibility now than it did a few years ago, but onscreen representation takes time to trickle down into everyday society.

Education, support, and community are important here. Documentaries like Disclosure explore how trans people have been depicted in film over the years and how that’s impacted American culture. It shows that we’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go.

There are also plenty of online resources that can help employers to educate themselves on how to best support trans employees.

When it comes to the hiring process, a blind process only goes so far. It won’t change the prejudice that can come from an in-person interview. 

And the prejudice is big—44% of trans people feel an employer has turned them down for a job because they were trans. Clearly, transgender discrimination in the workplace is still a very real and pressing problem.

Conclusion 

One thing I noticed when doing my research for this blog post is that all of the stats are high. Higher than they are for any other underrepresented group. And the odds are really stacked against trans people in ways we need to talk about more.

20% have been, or are currently, homeless. Trans people are also four times as likely to live in poverty. Businesses can play a role in changing these stats. Your business can play a role in changing these stats.

The trans community is heavily discriminated against. The workplace is just one of the places where they have to deal with transphobia just to pay the bills.

Employers have an obligation to set an example to their employees who may be responsible for transgender discrimination in the workplace. They also have a responsibility to educate themselves.

They can then use that education to start meaningful conversations within the business to develop more inclusive policies, and help to create a more supportive workforce for trans employees.

If you’re looking to break down biases and drive real belonging at your organization, Workrowd can help. Check out our suite of tools for ensuring that every team member can get fully immersed in your company culture from day one, alongside real-time analytics. Drop us a line at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Welcome back to our series on systemic bias in the workplace. Over the course of several weeks, we’re spotlighting various categories of bias, including gender bias, racial bias, disability bias, heterosexual bias, and now age bias and ageism in the workplace. Our aim is to add to the ongoing conversation and help everyone build more inclusive environments. We hope you find it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Society is full of contradictions. It values both the wisdom that comes with age and the looks that come with youth. (And probably the cheaper pay, too.) 

Which is how businesses end up writing job descriptions that require three years of experience for an entry-level position.

There comes a point where that wisdom is no longer valued, though. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research found in 2020 that someone 40 or older was half as likely to get a job offer as someone younger if an employer knows their age.

In the UK, 50-year-old job seekers are up to three times less likely to be chosen for interviews than younger job seekers with less experience.

Age discrimination laws in the US protect anyone 40 or older. But only 9% of Americans know this, even though 49% are aware that age discrimination laws exist.

So, let’s dive into what these laws cover, the responsibility businesses have to protect and celebrate their more seasoned employees, and what the consequences of ageism in the workplace are.

What does ageism in the workplace look like?

A study in 2020 done by SeniorLiving found that 41% of workers reported they were passed up for raises or promotions because of their age. And 45% felt they were passed up for other opportunities.

27% had been on the receiving end of unwanted jokes, and 27% had also experienced harassment or bullying.

This means a significant portion of people over 40 have experienced some sort of negative reaction to the natural (and uncontrollable) process of aging.

Some people also believe age discrimination is going to increase because the number of older Americans is going up, too. 

The US risks missing out on almost $4 trillion of economic contributions provided by older Americans because of age discrimination.

Companies often want to hire younger workers with the goal of training them up and promoting them within the company. But most people don’t stick around long enough for this to really matter. 

The overall average length of time someone stays in a role is 4.1 years. For employees aged 55 to 64, that number is 10.1 years. Employees aged 25-34 stay just 2.8 years.

All this raises the question: what do companies really want from an employee? Do they want youthfulness or experience? Are they looking for someone to stick around long-term?

And if they know someone isn’t going to stick around for a decade or more, why does age really matter?

What are the laws?

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects people over 40 from ageism in the workplace. Some states also have laws that protect employees under 40.

According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:

“The law prohibits discrimination in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.”

It’s not illegal to favor an older employee over a younger one. However, it can still be age discrimination if both people involved are over 40.

The law also states:

“Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s age. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

“The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.”

Ageism in the hiring process

Both of my parents found themselves unemployed on the other side of 50 through no fault of their own. 

And, when my partner and I suggested they get part-time jobs to stave off boredom and keep money coming in, they both had the same response: “I’m too old. Nobody will hire me.”

It gets worse, though.

Not only did they think nobody would hire them, but they also believed that age discrimination laws wouldn’t protect them.

And I totally get their point. Because how do you prove that someone didn’t hire you for a role because of your age? It’s really hard to do. 

Which means businesses can get away with ageism in the workplace, as well as the contradiction of requiring experience for an entry-level role that probably doesn’t even pay what someone with that level of experience is worth.

Studies show that when the hiring process is age-blind, older people are just as likely—sometimes even more likely—to get invited to interview.

But, of course, to interview someone, we have to see/meet them. Meaning that ageism is still likely to kick in at this point.

Even when someone older had superior qualifications and experience, they were 46% less likely to be offered a job.

What, exactly, does society have against people over a certain age?

What can we do about ageism?

The real problem is identifying ageism. Because nobody really talks about it.

Many people assume that, as a society, we’re not ageist. But just look at the stats. Look at how people treat female celebrities as they age, compared to their male counterparts. We view male actors as silver foxes, getting more attractive with age. Female actors find their work drying up because there aren’t as many roles for women over 40.

There’s no denying that ageism exists throughout the western world. 

Society places value on both youth and experience, traits that can’t coexist in one person. 

Yet many businesses still strive to find that magical candidate, even though, if you spoke to any hiring manager, I’d guarantee they’d tell you they got wiser with age. Who doesn’t?

So, if we all know we get wiser with age, why do we hold age against other people? Age is a privilege that not everyone gets to experience, and we should value and honor that.

If you’re looking to counter ageism in the workplace and drive real inclusion, it’s crucial that employees have a chance to connect with each other as whole people. A platform like Workrowd can help, ensuring that employees participate in groups and events together. If this sounds like a fit for your workplace, send us a note to hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Welcome back to our series on systemic bias in the workplace. Over the course of several weeks, we’re spotlighting various categories of bias, including gender bias, racial bias, disability bias, and now heterosexual bias and homophobia in the workplace. Our aim is to add to the ongoing conversation and help everyone build more inclusive environments. We hope you find it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

7.1% of American adults identify as LGBT, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Nearly half of LGBT employees have experienced workplace bias at some point in their careers. One in ten have faced discrimination within the last year.

On the flip side, 91% of Fortune 500 companies prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

So, many big businesses are being proactive and putting policies in place to try to protect these individuals, even though the actual experience of LGBT employees might not reflect it.

What does homophobia in the workplace look like?

Homophobia in the workplace can come in many forms. It could be someone not getting a job, being looked over for a promotion, or being on the receiving end of snide comments or so-called jokes, all because of their sexual orientation. 

While that may sound like it wouldn’t happen in the modern world, a McKinsey study spoke to one employee who found a client wouldn’t work with their employer unless they were taken off the team because the client didn’t want to work with someone who was gay. Thankfully, their employer backed them up and refused to work with the client.

That doesn’t always happen, though. 

Another person had bible verses recited at them in their cubicle by a senior colleague when said colleague found out they were gay. They didn’t feel they’d be believed if they reported that person for their behavior because of their colleague’s seniority.

(Not) coming out at work

Based on those stories, is it any wonder that 31% of people are afraid coming out will negatively impact their relationship with their colleagues? Or that 23% think it’ll negatively affect their ability to advance in their role?

Even employees who do come out to their colleagues find that isn’t the end of it. They often have to come out repeatedly. 

The McKinsey study found that one in five employees came out to their colleagues weekly, while one in ten had to do it daily. Daily!

Could we just stop making assumptions about people’s lives, please? It’s really a very simple solution.

You wouldn’t assume someone who doesn’t talk about their partner is single. (Or you shouldn’t; they may just be private.) So why assume someone who doesn’t talk about their love life is heterosexual? And why does it matter, anyway?

If you really want to ask about someone’s dating life, ask about their partner rather than boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife. It’s much more inclusive language and means you’re not making assumptions about someone’s love life.

How can businesses support LGBTQ+ employees?

It all starts with kindness and common sense. Don’t make assumptions.

Studies have shown that if you think you’re not prejudiced about something, you probably are prejudiced about it. Remaining open-minded is an important part of being an ally and identifying your own—and other people’s—detrimental attitudes and actions.

If you want to foster an inclusive workplace, hiring people who are onboard with this mission, and who follow through on their commitments to diversity, is a good way to show LGBT employees that you really do support them.

Sensitivity training may also be beneficial, particularly for team leaders and above. We’re often not aware of our own implicit biases, so this training can help to point them out so that people can be more mindful of their biases going forward.

When it comes to any sort of training, make sure it’s as engaging as possible. Don’t just tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. That’s asking for them to feel lectured to and fall asleep halfway through.

Get them to understand why something might hurt another person’s feelings, or why it’s inappropriate in the workplace. 

The more concrete you can make the examples, and the more engaging you can make the training program, the more likely employees will be to remember the lessons and implement them at work.

And also remember that you should take the training, too. Being in charge doesn’t make you immune to enabling homophobia in the workplace.

Show, rather than tell

The more open you are about your business’s diversity policies, the more likely you’ll be to attract employees who support an inclusive, diverse workforce. 

This goes beyond copy-and-paste equal opportunity statements at the end of a job description. Or even asking people what their sexual orientation is on a job application. (I’ll save those rants for another blog post.)

Instead, it’s about showing how you support LGBTQ+ employees. 

Don’t just change your brand logo to include the Pride colors in June—do something to show your support instead. 

Communicate with employees about LGBTQ+ rights, and if they need to travel abroad to less accommodating countries, talk to them about it beforehand. This will show them that you take their wellbeing seriously.

You can also offer parental or adoption leave for both parents. After all, regardless of someone’s sexual orientation, or the gender of their partner, you never know who’s going to end up being the primary caregiver.

Conclusion

Managers are your employees’ role models. It’s imperative that they set a strong example of countering homophobia in the workplace. A big part of it is just being open, honest, and supportive. Managers shouldn’t force anyone out of the closet, nor should they make assumptions about anyone’s sexual orientation or gender.

Inclusive language goes a long way towards demonstrating that your company is inclusive, too.

Small things like offering Mx alongside Mr, Ms, Miss, and Mrs, or asking if someone has a partner rather than a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife, can impact the atmosphere within your business.

The more work organizations do to identify and challenge assumptions about gender and sexual orientation, the more secure employees will feel being themselves in the workplace. And the less likely they’ll be to have to come out to their colleagues on a daily basis.

If you’re committed to reducing implicit bias in your organization, it’s time to go beyond trainings. Drive deep belonging and help employees see their colleagues through a lens of commonality rather than difference. Workrowd helps your people find their people, giving them the opportunity to build real, sustained connections with team members across the organization. Write us at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Welcome back to our series on systemic bias in the workplace. Over the course of several weeks, we’re spotlighting various categories of bias, including gender bias, racial bias, and now disability bias and ableism in the workplace. Our aim is to add to the ongoing conversation and help everyone build more inclusive environments. We hope you find it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

15% of the global population—that’s 1 billion people—experience some form of disability. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 19.1% of US disabled people were employed in 2021, up from 17.9% the year before.

However, I do wonder if this number is actually a lot higher. 

The difficulty with disability disclosures

Some people who have conditions such as depression, anxiety, autism, or ADHD don’t class themselves as disabled. Others whose health conditions have improved may not class themselves among this group either.

As someone with chronic pain, I have days where I feel disabled and days where I don’t. 

And, while I’m open about my health issues, I wouldn’t discuss them with an employer unless I really had to. 

Just because I’m comfortable talking about my health issues, that doesn’t mean I don’t notice the common reaction of the person I’m talking to. It usually involves squirming, frowning, or an abrupt change of subject. It doesn’t exactly make me feel listened to.

Many of my friends with disabilities feel the same. They wouldn’t ever check the box on those “equality” questionnaires to say that they are differently abled. 

Especially not when 1 in 3 employers won’t hire someone with a disability. Even though not hiring someone because of a health condition is illegal.

It’s also illegal for an employer to ask someone if they’re differently abled in a job interview. 

But they can ask them in those questionnaires. 

And you can tell me they’re anonymized or not attached to job applications or any other excuse you like. 

But I’ve never yet found evidence of them being used in someone’s favor, or purely for data. And stats like the ones in this article just prove my suspicions.

38% of people believe someone who’s disabled is a burden on society. Only 7% believe that mental illness counts as a disability. 

Two thirds of people don’t see being hard of hearing as a disability. Which really shows that most people don’t know what a disability is.

What is a disability?

Let’s go back to basics for a moment. A disability is, according to the CDC:

Any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).

They go on to explain that a disability includes anything that impacts someone’s:

• Vision
• Movement
• Thinking
• Remembering
• Learning
• Communicating
• Hearing
• Mental health
• Social relationships

Considering the stereotype is someone in a wheelchair, this list demonstrates that a disability goes much further than that and also includes conditions you can’t always see or easily define.

That means that discrimination laws in the workplace go further than you may think, too.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that:

To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability, which is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments they cover.

(Bold text my own.)

Disabled or differently abled? Which term should you use?

This one really depends on who you speak to. 

Some people dislike the word “disabled” because the “dis” implies that they’re not able to do something or that there’s something inherently wrong with them.

When really, the main reason someone who fits the criteria above can’t do something is often because of society, not their condition.

Differently abled is more inclusive and is less “othering” than “disabled.” 

Personally, I don’t have a preference and flit between the two. But that’s just me.

If you’re unsure, I’d talk to the person(s) you know who are affected so that you can make an informed decision. You may find that different people have different preferences.

Disability in the workplace

Unfortunately, a third of differently abled employees have experienced disability bias and/or ableism in the workplace. 

This can include people insulting, excluding, or underestimating them because of their disability. It can also involve people seeming uncomfortable around them solely for that reason.

Unsurprisingly, only 39% have disclosed their condition to their manager, and just 24% to colleagues.

Fear of discrimination is definitely a reason I’ve seen hold people back from disclosing their health issues. And, given the stats, discrimination is sadly pretty likely. 

However, 65% of those who’ve disclosed their condition are more content at work. 

I think it really depends on the culture. If somewhere is truly inclusive, the whole company will be supportive and take the right steps to help someone succeed in their role. Regardless of their disability status, gender, race, sexuality, religion, or anything else. Bias of any kind, including ableism in the workplace, has no place at these organizations.  

What can employers do to support disabled employees?

It’s up to employees to ask for accommodations that they need in the workplace so that they can do their job. 

Employers don’t always have to do exactly what the employee requests. They do need to come up with a similar solution that achieves the same outcomes, though.

For example, if a wheelchair user can’t get to their floor, you could install an elevator. 

Or move their department on to the ground floor so that they’re still around their colleagues.

Somewhere I used to work moved a whole department on to the ground floor for a wheelchair user, making sure there were ramps in as many places as possible. 

This person become a respected part of the company and happy in their role because their employer had taken steps to accommodate them, rather than giving in to ableism in the workplace.

Conclusion

This may seem like a lot of work. But we’ve all seen that meme asking different animals to climb a tree. 

A fish can’t climb a tree, but does that make it useless? No. They do other important things in the world instead. And none of those things require them to climb trees.

So, the next time you’re hiring, or talking to a newly disabled employee (since any of us could become disabled at any time), remember to keep your bias in check. 

And remember to ask what accommodations you could make so that they can succeed in their role, instead of wondering how they can work around you.

If you’re looking for new ways to counter bias and specifically ableism in the workplace, a platform that fosters real inclusion can help. With Workrowd, employees can join programs, groups, and events that highlight their intersectionality, and ensure that peers see them for more than any visible disabilities. If you’d like to learn more and explore how Workrowd can drive belonging at your organization, send us a message at hello@workrowd.com.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Welcome back to our series on systemic bias in the workplace. Over the course of several weeks we’re spotlighting various categories of bias, starting with gender bias last week, and following now with racism in the workplace. Our aim is to add to the ongoing conversation and help everyone build more inclusive environments. We hope you find it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Racial diversity is an important part of any business. It makes companies more profitable, and means they can better tap into their audiences’ needs. It also leads to a happier, more engaged, and more productive workforce.

Yet, for many businesses, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) isn’t a priority.

In fact, a recent survey by Deloitte revealed that more than 40% of upper management respondents feel their organizations are “too focused on DEI”. More than 60% predict their organization will reduce its commitment to DEI as new business threats emerge.

Unfortunately, racism is a lot more prevalent than many people realize. One in four people of color report having experienced racism in the workplace.

Young Black employees are even more likely to experience racism in the workplace than their older colleagues.

Black workers under 40 are twice as likely as Black workers 40 and older to report experiencing discrimination at work in the last year. This reinforces other findings that suggest young Black employees are more likely to experience microaggressions at work.

What does all this show? Businesses aren’t doing enough to support their employees of color and address racism in the workplace.

Identifying microaggressions and implicit bias

Microaggressions are statements, actions, or incidents that happen because of discrimination against a marginalized group. They can be intentional or unintentional, direct or indirect. 

They’re called microaggressions because their size can make them seem inconsequential or unnoticeable to outsiders. But these small acts can have big consequences.

For example, a hiring manager could overlook someone’s resume because of the name that’s on it. This is a sign of internal attitudes that often go unnoticed but can have a major impact for those on the receiving end of them. It can even impact the culture at the company.

And this does still happen. People with non-anglicized names have to send more job applications to get a call back.

Nuffield College’s Centre for Social Investigation sent around 3,200 fake job applications for a range of jobs, from shop assistants to chefs to software engineers. The applicants had identical CVs (which are slightly different from resumes but a similar idea), cover letters, and experience. Only 15% of Black, Indigenous, and person of color (BIPOC) applicants received a call back, compared to 24% of white British applicants.

This isn’t a new trend, but it is a frustrating one. Removing the name from resumes before they’re looked at is a simple way to avoid this discrimination. Without a name, someone’s merit, education, and attitude can shine through with a lower risk of implicit biases seeping in.

Of course, this isn’t foolproof—reviewers can still find aspects to bias them against an applicant, such as where they went to school. But it’s a start.

Embracing natural hair textures

Half of Black women report being sent home from work for wearing their hair in an afro, braids, or twists.

And, while it may be illegal to fire someone for wearing an afro to work in the US, it’s legal to fire someone for going to work wearing protective styles like braids.

Black women are 50% more likely than white women to be sent home from work because of their hairstyle. They’re also 80% more likely to change it to fit in. 

And they’re 30% more likely to be given a grooming policy before applying to or starting a new job. A grooming policy? If that’s not a clear example of racism in the workplace, I don’t know what is.

“Banter”

Offensive comments are another example of racial microaggressions. The speaker may try to mask their comments as “teasing” or “banter”. Ultimately though, banter is really only banter if the person on the receiving end finds the comment funny. Otherwise, it’s bullying.

People have increasingly used the word “banter” as a euphemism for bullying, and it’s unacceptable. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the workplace, at school, or at home. It. Is. Bullying.

Management needs to foster a culture that encourages supporting each other and telling jokes that are both funny and inoffensive.

There are plenty of businesses with “bro cultures” that are now experiencing a backlash.

Companies building the right sort of culture now are going to be much more future-proof than those that have traditionally had racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, or otherwise unwelcoming environments to underrepresented minorities. 

Why businesses need to try harder to support BIPOC employees

Employee engagement is important for the success of every business. How a business responds to racism in the workplace, or how a BIPOC employee feels their employer would respond, is directly related to how engaged they are. When employees believe their employer would “do what’s right,” they’re more engaged.

And, let’s not forget, engaged employees are more productive and more likely to stick around. So, you get to save money and make more of it.

It’s a manager’s job to support their employees. Great managers, those who build the right type of culture, are more likely to have engaged employees. Their employees are also less likely to feel discriminated against at work.

Listening here is really important. Managers need to remember that employees want to feel heard.

And, they want to know that their manager will support them if they ever experience discrimination, in any form.

Dismissing claims without investigating them, or telling an employee what they’ve experienced isn’t important breaks trust and leads to a more toxic work environment.

Some types of implicit bias and microaggressions can be hard to spot. It can be helpful to ask BIPOC team members for their opinions, experiences, and suggestions of ways you can improve.

It’s only with this knowledge that businesses can make more informed decisions and avoid enabling a culture built on racism, microaggressions, and implicit biases.

Conclusion 

Racial discrimination at work has been illegal since 1964. Yet there’s plenty of evidence that racism in the workplace is still a major problem.

If businesses truly want to outperform their competitors, attract the right employees, and make a positive difference in the world, embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive culture is the way to go. This has countless benefits to all areas of a business.

If you’re ready to take on racism in the workplace, Workrowd’s all-in-one inclusion platform can help. With a central hub to manage everything from employee resource groups to manager-in-training programs, alongside automated surveys and real-time analytics, you can drive belonging for every team member. Drop us a line at hello@workrowd.com if you’d like to learn more.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Welcome to our series on systemic bias in the workplace. For the next several weeks we’ll be spotlighting various categories of bias, starting today with gender bias in the workplace. Our aim is to add to the ongoing conversation and help everyone build more inclusive environments. We hope you find it informative. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

We all have biases that impact how we perceive others and the ways in which we behave. These biases can span an array of different traits and situations. Today, we’ll be discussing gender bias in the workplace.

I’ve had many conversations with females who believe that we’ve achieved equality and feminism is no longer necessary. I’ve had just as many conversations with women and non-binary individuals who feel people treat them differently because of their gender.

But this is all anecdotal. What do the stats about gender bias in the workplace say?

Brace yourself, because it isn’t pretty…

Believing you’re not sexist doesn’t mean you’re not sexist

So, before we get started, it’s worth noting that studies have found that when you believe you’re objective—for instance, you believe you’re not sexist—it actually makes you less objective and more likely to behave in a biased way. 

This may be because when someone believes they’re objective and not sexist, they’re not going to put the work in to really consider their behavior and how it impacts others. Or factor in the changing times.

Think about what people considered acceptable in the 1960s workforce compared to now. Sexism was rife back then, and many things that would get someone fired now were once accepted. 

Many of today’s managers grew up in families and cultures that held those beliefs. The 1960s really wasn’t that long ago.

So, if no one is challenging those beliefs, they have no idea that what they’re doing could be harmful. Or that it could be a sign of gender bias in the workplace.

Business priorities and gender

Tech startup founders ranked having a diverse workforce seventh in the list of business priorities.

One quarter of these founders stated they weren’t interested in diversity or work/life balance. Yet their main goal was “hiring good people.”

So, they want to hire good people, but don’t believe addressing gender bias in the workplace is important. Hmm.

In the US, women hold 26% of the jobs in ‘professional computing’. Compare that to an average of 57% across other industries.

The idea that you have to be intelligent to work in tech doesn’t help. Girls aged five believe just as much as boys that women can be “really really smart.”

But, by age six, boys and girls believe women aren’t as intelligent as men. So, we don’t encourage girls to pursue careers in industries like tech based on the idea that they’re not smart enough.

And that belief can come across subconsciously. Most people don’t instill it consciously. It can be as simple as encouraging girls to focus on more feminine hobbies or activities. At the same time, they’ll encourage boys towards an enjoyment of tech or math.

This is a societal problem, but it has a wider reach. Girls lose their confidence, along with their desire to go on to become the next innovators and entrepreneurs. And it’s all because society tells them girls aren’t intelligent. (They can be, and are, for the record. But of course you already knew that.)

Then, when it comes to male-dominated industries, there’s also the issue of…

Sexual harassment in the workplace

When researchers surveyed senior-level women from Silicon Valley, the results were horrifying. 90% of respondents had witnessed sexist behavior.

Almost as many—87%—had received demeaning comments from male colleagues, and 60% had fielded unwanted sexual advances.

This from somewhere that claims to be forward-thinking, meritocratic, and supportive of its employees.

It gets worse, though. 60% of women had been propositioned. More than once.

And 65% had been propositioned by a superior.

The culture was so bad that a third of respondents had felt afraid for their personal safety.

What does that say about the working environments of firms that are developing much of the technology we rely on today, and will rely on in the future? 

Is it really going to support other genders, races, or backgrounds if it isn’t a safe place for someone who isn’t a white male? Is it even going to consider the needs of non-white, non-male customers?

Office environments 

I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll mention it again, because temperatures were the bane of my life when I worked in an office. Most companies still set the temperature based on a formula from the 1960s designed for a forty-year-old, 150-pound white man.

However, women performing the same type of work have a lower metabolic rate. Which means the average office temperature could be five degrees too cold for them.

It doesn’t help that female clothes are generally made from thinner fabric than men’s.

As someone who used to wear an average of five layers to work, including thermals and a wool sweater, while sitting typing articles just like this one, I can confirm how painfully true this is. Many of my female friends have had similar issues, too.

I’ve never spoken to a male who finds an office too cold unless the A/C has been cranked up because it’s hot outside.

There has to be a compromise, doesn’t there?

How to build a more gender diverse workforce

The London School of Economics found that quotas ‘weed out incompetent men’. They do not promote unqualified women or non-binary individuals, like many people assume.

So, the next time you feel uncomfortable having a quota for something, consider the implicit biases that may be taking hold. Especially given that even females are sometimes reluctant to hire other females because they believe other women are either their competition, or less capable of performing a role.

When it comes to sexual harassment, make sure you actually listen to employees who report it. Don’t dismiss them because of what they’re saying, or who’s involved. It shouldn’t turn into a game of he said/she said.

Boundaries are important and people deserve to have theirs respected. Especially in the workplace.

Also, make sure that employees know you have a zero-tolerance attitude towards sexual harassment.

If there’s a “bro culture” where people feel they can get away with sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive language, that kind of language is more likely to be used.

Free speech doesn’t give someone a license to be rude or offensive, just the same as a diversity statement on a job description doesn’t mean you really have diverse hiring and employment practices. ‘Actions speak louder than words,’ as my old teacher used to say.

Conclusion

Lastly, don’t underestimate the difference allowing employees to work from home, or offering them flexible hours, can make. Not with 76% of American homemakers saying they’d go back to work if they could work from home, and 74% willing to if a job had flexible hours. 

Given that 97% of American homemakers are women, that’s a big portion of the working-age population businesses are cutting out. A lot of these facts come from the eye-opening book, “Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men,” by Caroline Criado-Perez.

If you’re looking for other ways to reduce gender bias in the workplace, start by talking to the women and non-binary folks on your team. If you have relevant ERGs, consider sitting down with them to learn more about their experiences.

Managing your employee programs through a platform like Workrowd can make it easier for everyone to speak up and find ways to feel included. To find out whether this is a fit for you, send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

Boomerang employees: what are they and why you want them

7 tactics to supercharge your workplace engagement activities

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why