Break The Bias
Posted on March 11, 2022 by Gopal Iyer, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
The whole world celebrated women's day last week. Have things changed for people at work? What can we do to bring the change? Break the bias?
Gopal, I’ve put in my papers, she said.
Why, what happened? I asked.
She: My Boss says I did phenomenal work, but because I was on Maternity leave for most of this year, they had to evaluate my performance holistically, and in comparison with contributions made by others, I haven’t done enough work to get a higher rating.
Me: That’s really unfortunate!
She: Moreover, ever since I am back, I am not being given good meaningful projects where I could have shown impact. When I checked with my Boss, he said, “Be patient – I cannot disrupt existing projects but will give you a good one soon.”
I am feeling Let down. I don’t feel like working anymore. I have to do many things at home, take care of the young one, and do other caregiving responsibilities. If I can’t find meaning and purpose even at the workplace, I am unsure what I am doing all this for?
Characters, workplaces, locations could all be different, but this storyline remains pretty much the same everywhere.
There are far too many biases that we carry at our workplaces. Unfortunately, poor handling leads to many taking a decision that could be a loss-making proposition for the organizations and the individuals de2ciding to quit too.
According to a Survey – at least 73% of Indian women quit their jobs post-maternity. But, at the same time, only 27 percent of women advance in their careers and continue to be part of the workforce. Moreover, a meager 16 percent advance to hold senior leadership positions of the women who return to employment.
If the situation continues this way, not only would it make it extremely difficult for organizations to keep their workforce gender parity intact, but it will also lead to them creating businesses, products, services, and offerings that are heavily biased for only 1 gender user group.
This year’s theme is ‘break the bias.’
Some questions worth asking ourselves are:
1) What biases do we live with? Why? Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias can make it difficult for women to move ahead in life. So what can we do more to become aware of these biases?
2) What are we doing, or what can we do more to take action and level the playing field.
Let’s join hands to break the bias and forge a gender-equal world!
#internationalwomensday2022 #leadership #gender #work #jobs #bestadvice #internationalwomensday
