The female factor is proud to partner with Equalture, a data-driven hiring tool that helps growing companies to hire the best-fit employees. Equalture is using fun and short neuroscientific games to collect unbiased data on both employers and prospective employees which aims to accomplish a hiring match made in heaven.
We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
what exactly is unconscious bias?
We all have a tendency to think in particular ways that can be in the way of making rational judgments.
This usually derives from:
Information processing shortcuts
The limited processing ability of the brain
Emotional and moral motivations
Distortions in storing and retrieving memories
Social influence
The most apparent biases when it comes to decision-making in HR are:
1. Perception bias
Perception bias is when we believe something is typical of a particular group of people based on cultural stereotypes or assumptions.
2. Affinity bias or mini-me affect
Describes the tendency to feel as though we have a natural connection with people who are similar to us in any way
3. Halo effect
When we project positive qualities onto people without actually knowing them, we have become susceptible to the 'halo effect'.
4. Confirmation bias
We generally look to confirm our own opinions and pre-existing ideas about a particular group of people. When we enter a situation hoping to have our initial expectations met, this is often an example of confirmation bias.
Experiencing one or multiple of over 188 known biases doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you simply human.
the problem of unconscious biases in hiring
As we learned, biases affect our decision-making in everyday life: from the most basic things, to the most complex ones. In HR, they can lead to stereotypical hiring (“mini-me effect”) and to a loss of diversity, which ultimately results in less innovation potential and a worse financial company performance.
"As we at the female factor recently launched Europe’s first job platform for inclusive companies, we want to bring more attention to the impact of unconscious biases on hiring processes. By working closely with Equalture we offer our partner companies an additional tool to limit these biases in their decision-making", explains the female factor co-founder Tanja Sternbauer.
how you can beat unconscious bias in your hiring process
The first major hurdle HR execs and company founders need to overcome is their awareness of different biases in play when it comes to their processes and decision-making. But that’s (unfortunately) not it. As recently stated in an article by HBR, teaching people to manage their biases, changing their behavior and tracking their progress is the only way to create a lasting impact.
In order to do so technology-driven tools are here to help.
“Diversity, equality and inclusivity should be a priority for every company. At Equalture, we are deeply committed to ensure equal opportunities in hiring for everyone. We are very happy to partner with the female factor to help even more companies to make DE&I an integral part of their company,” says Maud Warmerdam, Partnerships Manager at Equalture.
the female factor and Equalture join forces
As the female factor we are working closely with HR decision-makers to support them in hiring and retaining female talents. The joint partnership of Equalture and the female factor aims to bring unconscious bias awareness and necessary tools to more pioneering companies in Europe, to eventually support them on their diversity and inclusion journey for equal opportunities in the workplace.
If you're a decision-maker in HR and want to limit your biases in recruiting, you can save 15 % on the first year of subscription on Equalture's tools by using the code "THEFEMALEFACTOR" upon checkout here.
about the female factor
The female factor is a global community aiming to close the leadership gap by enabling the next generation of female leaders to get their seat at the table. The organization recently launched Europe’s first job platform for inclusive companies and offers leadership trainings, a mentoring program and events for its members.
about Equalture
Equalture's data-driven hiring tool helps companies to find the best-fit people by collecting unbiased data on both the current team as well as candidates to base their hiring decisions on. To collect these insights, we use fun and short neuroscientific games.