Mar 24, 2022
Women’s History Month is in full swing and our Acquisition Manager at QuickCheck, Susan Ikegwu, who is committed to making a positive difference for women, talks about how unconscious gender bias makes it difficult for women to advance and how we can work together to combat it.
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What is Unconcious gender bias?
Unconscious gender bias is an automatic mental assumption based on gender that’s unconsciously learned from our traditions, norms, values, culture, and experience. Simply put- Assuming that a man should be the Governor of a state and a woman should be the Deputy Governor is unconscious Gender bias.
How does it affect women?
Unconscious gender bias stifles progress towards gender equality and holds back women’s career growth, accomplishment, and advancement in the workplace and society.
I urge you to check out this UN report to know more about how gender bias affects women -says Susan Ikegwu.
You still hear statements like –
Men make better leaders than women
Women are more emotional
Some of these gendered perceptions, which generally begin as a joke, contribute to the stereotypes and biases that have an implication on the role and status of women.
Imagine a secondary school teacher selecting males as class captains on the belief that a man will govern the class better, depriving a girl deserving of leading a class the opportunity to obtain firsthand experience as a leader at a young age. As she grows older, she encounters similar problems at work and in society. These experiences make it harder for women to have a seat or voice in key decision-making processes and gatherings in society.
How can we overcome unconscious Gender Bias?
One effective way to overcome unconscious gender bias is to continually practice questioning the assumptions you are making about others based on their gender. Simply said – Be conscious of your unconscious bias.
Also, do not keep quiet when people around you show acts of unconscious gender bias.
This way, we can close the gap on gender inequality and give women a level playing field.