To start, my results indicated that I was “moderately faster at sorting ‘Career’ with ‘Male Names’ and ‘Family’ with ‘Female Names’ than ‘Family’ with ‘Male Names’ and ‘Career’ with ‘Female Names’.” While I consciously support gender equality in the workplace, my results suggest that I may have unconscious associations surrounding this topic.
Implicit bias can significantly impact the validity and reliability of the selection process. These biases present concerns with consistency in decision making and whether the process accurately measures what it intends to. In particular, this means that if hiring managers unconsciously associate certain character aspects with certain genders, they may unintentionally favor one gender over the other when evaluating specific skills.
One important observation is that the test itself initially asks participants to sort “Career” with male names and “Family” with female names. This setup inherently trains the brain to associate those pairings first, which may influence the speed and accuracy of later responses. In my case, I also recognize my personal bias. As a woman planning to start a family and reduce my work hours while my husband continues to support us financially, I naturally associate myself more with family-related words. This personal context likely reinforced the associations measured in the test.
In order to counteract this implicit bias, a strategy I plan to implement within hiring practices is structured decision making. Using standardized evaluation criteria can reduce the influence of bias. As discussed in the Be Better Blog, awareness alone is not enough. We must actively design systems that minimize bias and promote fairness.
