Definition: stereotypes, gender & racial bias
- The stereotypical bias describes the tendency to evaluate people based on generalizing assumptions (stereotypes) about their social group rather than looking at them individually.
- The gender bias occurs when a person is favored or disadvantaged because of their gender.
- The Racial bias means unconscious or conscious prejudices against people from certain ethnic groups that can influence their chances in the application process.
Examples of stereotypes, gender & racial bias
Sound familiar?
An elderly colleague jokes about the fact that women park poorly and men listen poorly. Even if you don't share these statements, deep-rooted stereotypes often unconsciously influence our perception of people.
Or: A company is looking for a new female engineer for a male-dominated team. Without consciously realizing it, those responsible automatically think of male applicants — women don't even come to mind as potential candidates.
What is the reason for that?
That is due to unconscious prejudices (stereotype bias)
Unconscious prejudices influence attitudes towards people who belong to marginalized groups. How strong their influence is depends on how deeply the stereotypes are anchored in the individual environment (Birkel and et al., 2020).
For example, HR managers who want to fill a position in a male-dominated industry tend to be more skeptical of female candidates. In fact, they simply don't consider these candidates when they think of the right fit (Madsen & Andrade, 2018).
It is the same with the attitude of people of color, i.e. people who are perceived as not white. For example, these are perceived as less qualified or efficient (Bendick & Nunes, 2011).
The influence of such stereotypes has been confirmed in some studies, in which, for example, the name and photo were changed while CVs remained the same, resulting in a resulted in a change in evaluation (Gonzalez et al., 2019).
What else is a bias? We explain:
A bias generally describes a systematic distortion in human perception, thinking, or behavior. It is a type of “mental abbreviation” or Bias that subconsciously influences our judgment and decision making.
These distortions can result from personal experiences, cultural influences, emotional states or evolutionary thought patterns. While they often help us make quick decisions, they can also lead to miscalculations and irrational decisions.
Other examples of biases in the HR process include:
- Confirmation Bias: The Confirmation Bias
We prefer information that supports our existing point of view and ignore conflicting information. - Primacy Effect: The First Impression Mistake
The first impression has a disproportionate influence on the overall assessment and is difficult to change. - Halo & Horns Effect: Distortion due to individual features
A single positive (halo) or negative (horn) aspect outshines a person's entire perception. - Affinity Bias (Mini-Me Effect): The Similarity Flaw
People who are similar to us are automatically rated more positively. - Conformity Bias: The Adjustment Mistake
Adapting one's own decisions to group opinions due to fear of negative evaluation. - Stereotypes/Gender/Racial Bias
Unconscious prejudices against marginalized groups influence decisions. - Illusory Correlation: The Perception of False Connections
False assumption of relationships between independent properties. - Contrast Bias: The Contrast Effect
Evaluation of a person in direct comparison with previous or successor rather than according to objective criteria. - Overconfidence Bias: The Trap of Overconfidence
Overestimation of one's own judgment and excessive reliance on “gut feeling.”
Identifying our own biases is the first step towards becoming more aware and more objective decisions within personnel selection to be able to meet.
How structured pre-selection helps avoid this distortion is shown by Aivy's assessment procedures.
This effect is one of 17 patterns that shape hiring decisions. The overview is in Unconscious Bias in Recruiting.
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