APA’s findings may reveal that unconscious bias is alive and well. Employment experts routinely remind HR that managers harbor these biases, creating a need for both training and standardized performance criteria. When men and women are judged based on different factors, discriminatory hiring and promotion practices can emerge.
And while the report found that men are sometimes judged more harshly, too, such biases may be disproportionately affecting women’s advancement opportunities. A new report from LeanIn.org and McKinsey found that barriers for female leaders start long before they enter the C-suite; obstacles often begin at management-entry level. The report showed that for every 100 men promoted or hired into management, 72 women were similarly advanced.
