Unconscious Gender Bias and How to Combat It
Disclaimer: the opinions expressed by the author of this article don't necessarily represent the opinions of NAWA as an organization.
Unconscious bias has a real impact in the actuarial profession. We are not immune. It can be seen in concrete numbers around the prevalence of women in higher level roles as well as intangible attitudes and treatment of women on the job. It can even be seen in performance appraisals where men may be penalized for seeking help because it does not fit a “male” stereotype.
The good news is that we have the power to take on this challenge headfirst. We can raise our own awareness of what it is, where it comes from, and then take the first steps toward keeping it from impacting all of our careers.
What is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious, or implicit, gender bias is defined as unintentional and automatic mental associations based on gender. These associations impact decisions and actions of individuals, and thus the cultures and bottom line results of organizations.
They can be categorized into some common tendencies that you may recognize.
Affinity bias is the tendency to want to be around people that we see as similar to ourselves.
The halo effect is a tendency to believe that everything about a person is good simply because you like that person.
Perception bias is the tendency to form stereotypes about specific groups that reduce your ability to make objective judgements about individual members of that group.
And confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that will confirm pre-existing assumptions. It puts subconscious blinders on with regard to information that conflicts with our initial assumptions.
As part of the research for this article, and out of curiosity, I took the Implicit Association Test (IAT) through Project Implicit. The goal of the test is to measure the strength of your associations between concepts such as gender and stereotypes.
I admit that I went in assuming - no, expecting - that I would be one of the proud few that has no implicit bias. After all, I am from a family where my brother and I were raised exactly the same. Getting your drivers license? You will learn to change a tire and check the oil. Eating dinner with the family? You will be part of the cooking and the cleaning up afterwards. Enjoy math? Pursue it with a passion. There was no such thing as a gender role in my family. Yet the results of the IAT were telling me that I do have a good amount of unconscious gender bias. After a short internal deliberation about how the test could be structured differently so that it would be more accurate, I decided that the result was actually unimportant.
The fact is that unconscious bias does exist. The most productive assumption that I, as a part of the actuarial profession, and global community, can have is to assume that I am influenced by it as well. Then I can actively seek out manifestations of the bias in my own and others’ actions and words, and in the environment around me. I can more completely commit to creating a career that is not as influenced by it. I can become more aware of times when I am showing this bias, and look for opportunities to combat it every day.
“Implicit biases come from culture. I think of them as the thumbprint of the culture on our minds. Human beings have the ability to learn to associate two things together very quickly - that is innate. What we teach ourselves, what we choose to associate is up to us,” - Dr. Mahzarin R. Banaji
As actuaries, we are trained to take in a wide array of information and then to make informed decisions based on that information. Our brains are extremely good at that.
Unconscious biases are formed through the norms that we are exposed to. Everything that we experience and view in culture, society, and our environment may be creating unconscious biases. It was in our upbringing, and in every hour of our current day. It seeps in through media, language, and experiences.
Our brains are merely trying to simplify things. We automatically use these stereotypes to make quick decisions and move onto “more important” tasks. It happens more often when we are multi-tasking or working under pressure.
What impact does it have on actuaries?
As an actuary, everyone has to jump through the same exam hoops in order to earn the associate or fellow designation. Your candidate number when taking an exam does not come in pink or blue. So how are actuaries impacted by unconscious gender bias? Let's look at some of the numbers.
Women make up between 31% and 33% of the membership in the CAS and the SOA. Yet in the financial sector women make up only 5% of CEO, 8% of CFO, and 25% of CIO/CTO roles.
The recent pandemic has been having an outsized impact on women in the workforce, so these numbers may already be dropping. More than one in four women are contemplating downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce completely.
A Yale University study in 2014 found that both male and female scientists were more likely to hire men, rank them higher in competency than women, and pay them $4,000 more per year than women. Scientists are trained to be objective, like actuaries. Perhaps actuaries are suffering the same results?
The above numbers indicate that there are implications in hiring, promotions, and pay. Yet the impact goes beyond the numbers. These biases can affect an individual’s sense of inclusion, respect, work/life balance, willingness to contribute according to their unique strengths and skills, and general comfort level at work.
Unconscious biases can lead to impaired performances as a result of increased stress, decrease in motivation, negative moods, and even monitoring and adjusting of one’s own behavior to try and offset the bias. This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy when the bias begins to negatively impact performance. Allowing unconscious bias to go unchecked has a negative impact on productivity and performance, and thus the business’s bottom line.
On the other hand, increased diversity and inclusiveness have been shown to have tangible impacts on both revenue and profit. Companies with above average diversity in management report higher levels of innovation revenue. And companies with more than 30% women executives were more likely to outperform companies with fewer women executives.
What can be done?
Recognize that unconscious bias is a habit of the mind. Actively seek to break the simplifying cycle of stereotypes. We, as actuaries, are trained to look at both averages and outliers. When it comes to working with others, we should be looking for the outliers and understanding the variability in our data.
Slow down. We fall back on biases when we don’t have the time to take a more critical view. Ensure that you are building in enough time for critical activities around hiring, promoting, and assigning projects.
Talk about the issue. Unconscious bias is a real thing in your interactions and relationships. Talk about what the stereotypes are. Just noting that there is a stereotype has been shown to offset some of the stereotype’s negative impact. If you are unsure whether there might be a stereotype at play, you can always approach it from a position of curiosity and seek to understand why processes or specific words are being used.
Create structures around hiring and promotion processes. Use consistent and unbiased language and questions. This can reduce the chance that unconscious bias will cause you to ask different questions of different candidates, or set a different measurement bar for each person.
Offer specific training to individuals at all levels. Not only will this provide information to be used to combat unconscious bias, everyone will see the focus on the issue and be more inclined to speak up when they notice something. It creates a more open environment. There are some great resources available from organizations such as Lean In.
Speak up when you see something in your organization that might be causing or contributing to unconscious bias. Be an ally to those around you. Recognize what influence you may have in your current position and use that to help those who may not have as much power.
Now is an optimal time to take steps to create new processes, habits, and awareness to fight the negative impact of unconscious bias. We can use the disruption from COVID to create a new status quo. Many aspects of how and where we work are being reassessed and restructured. What better time to make improvements?
There is no one silver bullet that will conquer unconscious bias. It will continue to be a part of our culture for a long time. But the more that we can bring it into the light and identify how it shows up and the impact that it has, the more able we will be to counter it. Only then can we truly start reaping the rewards of an actuarial profession in which the contributions of everyone are valued, recognized, and optimized.
Meet Aree Bly
Aree is an alignment coach and speaker. She came to coaching after 25 years in an actuarial career where, in addition to the technical work, she developed mentoring and coaching programs to support cross-functional teams.
Now, through her experience and training, she works with analytically minded professionals to identify and navigate their unique values, strengths, and skills, in order to enjoy the freedom of sustainable success.
Her speaking career has taken her to the TEDx stage where she speaks about the Four “Fs” and delivers workshops on using alignment to create sustainable success.
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