Willful Discrimination, Unconscious Bias, or Simply Preference?
The current class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart by more than two million women who have worked there since December 26, 1998 (Dukes v. Wal-Mart) sets the ground for a discussion on equality in the workforce, from bad corporate policies to biases.
This debate transcends Wal-Mart and the issue really is while many major corporations have policies to promote diversity and equality, reality shows otherwise. Why? Because hiring, promoting, firing, etc… are all a matter of “getting along” at the end of the day.
“Supported by expert psychological testimony, the plaintiffs argue that managers in charge of promotion and pay decisions are unwittingly engaging in “spontaneous” and “automatic” stereotyping and “in-group favoritism” that results in the most desirable jobs at the company being filled by people who look like the incumbents, who are usually white males.” (quoted from Roger Parloff, Fortune Senior Editor)
How much discretion should be given to HR decisions? How to resolve the issue of equality in the workplace? What is acceptable and not acceptable? As the title of the article says, the war is against “unconscious biases,” meaning that setting out “formal” written policies is not sufficient. For the process to really work, employers need to reform their “corporate philosophies” and change “attitudes” in the workplace.
The War Over Unconscious Bias, CNNMoney.com