Below are the results of the average Age Discrimination test. What can be seen is that more people have a general preference towards young people compared to old people. My results showed that I land within the 15% of people that show little to no automatic preference between young and old people.
While this is good results for a one-time test, the reality is that we contain biases towards younger and older people when we are out in public. Even if these biases are seemingly “good”, like giving preferences to younger or elderly individuals, they can still translate to implicit biases that can affect another person’s opportunities.
According to the results above, the majority of individuals express an implicit bias either towards younger or older people. What this can mean in a recruitment and selection process is that these biases can carry through into the interview and beyond without hiring managers knowing if they are not aware of their personal biases. This changes the reliability and validity of the selection process if these biases are not accounted for and mitigated.
One way to mitigate bias is to create a standardized set of questions pertaining to the job itself. This avoids the possibility of a hiring manager asking unintentionally easier or harder questions to those they may have underlying biases towards. Another way to mitigate bias during the hiring and selection process is to have multiple interviews with potential candidates using a scoring method. This allows multiple people to score a candidate, eliminating single biases from individual managers if they are present.
Breaking implicit biases is like breaking a bad habit, according to Be Better Blog (2024). The first step in addressing personal biases is to bring awareness of the biases to the surface. It’s noted that it takes time to change biases, however the keys to change are commitment, motivation, and persistence.
SOURCES
Chang, Clara. “Understanding Implicit Bias-and How to Work through It.” Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Be Better Blog, December 30, 2024. https://bhgrecareer.com/bebetterblog/implicit-bias/.