One in three people experience unconscious bias in workplace
Almost one in three people responding to a survey on diversity in the Bermuda re/insurance industry felt they had experienced unconscious bias in the workplace.
While a majority, 56%, said they had not, 31% said yes and 13% did not know.
The question was posed as part of a Bermuda:Re+ILS online survey on diversity as part of its focus on women in the workplace and diversity initiatives.
Unconscious bias is defined as the automatic associations and reactions that arise when we encounter a person or group. Instead of maintaining neutrality, we tend to associate positive or negative stereotypes with certain groups and let these biases influence our behaviour towards them.
One respondent said: "For the most part my workplace culture has been positive, although I do believe unconscious bias exists.
"The most direct example is where I have a young Caucasian male counterpart in the same role who is clearly being groomed for advancement by being given more exposure and underwriting opportunities, even though he consistently underperforms in routine tasks.
"Where I have experienced the most bias (often very overtly) is with regards to my age during the hiring process. I have consistently struggled against bias as a career changer with a multitude of excuses given as to why I was either "too good" or "not good enough" for a role. Hiring managers constantly make assumptions about my technical abilities, professional priorities and ability to integrate with existing teams, most often to my detriment.
"I understood as a career changer that I would never be eligible for "rising star" or "young underwriter of the year" awards. But I deserve to be taken at my merit."
Another respondent said: "There isn't a cultural standard (values) set by the organisation for employees to align to. For example, the hiring process shouldn't solely be around a candidate's technical ability or skillet set but must also include individual values, personality traits etc to ensure that they are an ideal fit, not only to the team they are on, but to the wider organization, thus increasing the probability that the candidate adds to the organizational culture that is embedded or being embedded."
A third respondent said unconscious biases were widespread: "All of us have unconscious bias and need to continue to be open, reflect and learn."
A fourth said there were biases in their company based, gender, sexual orientation and "small island bias" against Bermudians.
Asked if they felt uncomfortable discussing their race, nationality, gender identity, or disability with anyone at work, the vast majority of respondents in the survey - 70% - said no, but 28% said yes and 2% said they were not sure.
However one respondent said: "I wouldn't say that I felt uncomfortable, but I did feel like it was a waste of time.
"My company held very well intentioned 'race in the workplace' sessions to give everyone a chance to have tough conversations about the realities of being of a minority race member in the office. The few people of colour in my workshop took the risk to speak openly about their experiences. The Caucasian members of the group were largely disengaged. They said little to nothing and barely even showed acknowledgment of the experiences shared. It felt like another situation of 'diversity is your problem to fix, not ours'.
"The company leadership and session organisers meant well, but the response of the group was telling as to why the status quo is so difficult to shift."
However, another respondent was more optimistic: "When I was younger, I was certainly very uncomfortable, but the more I have these conversations with my team (with a learning mindset) the more I learn. I probably am still uncomfortable calling out gender bias, as I fear that there is exhaustion related to the conversation and I worry about being viewed as 'too sensitive'."
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