ABSTRACT
How do unconscious biases shape crucial personnel decisions recruitment and promotions in companies and organizations? This chapter shows how implicit biases about gender, race, looks, nationality or age can crucially influence managers’ and human resources (HR) personnel’s decision-making without their ever being aware of it. This can create companies that are not inclusive of heterogeneous backgrounds, where decision-making is not transparent and where employees feel unfairly treated. While inclusive, transparent workplaces for all genders and minorities are intrinsically desirable, this chapter also discusses how unconscious biases can negatively affect companies’ bottom lines. Conversely, if managers learn to critically reflect on their own implicitly held biases and implement HR processes designed to counteract unconscious biases, this is a big step in the direction of inclusive leadership and diverse, inclusive and transparent companies. In this chapter, we primarily address SDGs #5 (gender equality) and #10 (reduced inequality) but also SDG #8 on decent work, as inclusive, unbiased leadership can create a place of work where everyone, irrespective of background, feels included, safe and empowered.
