Dusseldorf Ben Barres was born a woman. At age 43, he decided to undergo gender reassignment surgery. In the run-up to the surgeries and hormone therapies, Barres thought a lot, his biggest concern: How would those around him react to the change? The answer: unlike what he would have thought possible.
Barres was a neurobiologist at Stanford University and as a woman was often disadvantaged. Among other things, as a graduate student, he failed to get a research grant at Harvard, although the dean said he submitted a better application than his male colleague.
After his assimilation, Barres was no longer interrupted, his expertise was no longer denied, in short: colleagues and bosses saw him as more competent than when he was a woman.
In 2013, Barres became the first transgender scientist to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. A colleague said the key phrase shortly after Barres became a man: “Ben Barre’s” seminar today was great. His work is much better than his sister’s.” He thought they were two different people.
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Barres died of cancer in 2017. But what the neurobiologist experienced during his lifetime in his career is the power of unconscious prejudices, so-called “unconscious bias”.
The US author Jessica D. Nordell has written a book (“The End of Bias”) about the consequences of this everyday sexism, collecting examples from Barres and many other people who have had similar experiences.
What all cases have in common is that the discrimination was subliminal and subtle.
There are the rounds of golf and networking opportunities they are not invited to; siphoning off credit for their work from others; unfair performance reviews punishing them for the same behavior praised in men; or “man interrupting”, i.e. a man interrupting a woman while she is explaining something in a meeting.
To illustrate the consequences of this humiliation, which women sometimes hardly notice themselves, Nordell invented the “Norm Corp” for an op-ed in the New York Times together with computer science professor Kenny Jospeh.
Behind it is the computer simulation of a fictitious company that was fed with gender-specific prejudices that are widespread and documented in the working world. About:
- that successful individual projects by women are generally valued less than those by men.
- that in mixed-gender teams, the performance of men is rated higher than that of women.
- that those who point out such injustices are perceived as “self-portrayals”, which makes promotion even more difficult.
Nordell and Joseph went through ten promotion cycles for men and women in the “Norm Corp”. Result: After ten years, there is not a single woman at the highest level of the company, only men. And these calculations do not yet include open discrimination and sexual harassment.
“The model illustrates how these disadvantages for women who remain in the company add up over time,” Nordell told Handelsblatt.
These not only ensure that women hardly ever reach higher management levels, but also that their career paths are “longer and more demanding” than those of men. What shall we do?
“The problem is the companies,” says the author. That’s where you have to start and solve the structural and individual conflicts. Four steps in the right direction:
1. Unconscious Bias: First, acknowledge that there are problems
“The most important task for organizations is to first find out where the bias in the company originates,” says Nordell. She recommends approaching the examination as neutrally as possible and examining each area anew.
The expert recommends: Instead of starting with the question “Are we actually biased?”, the point of view should be: “Where exactly is bias evident in our organization?” Otherwise the investigation will go directly in the wrong direction and in the direction that is often difficult to detect anyway signs would be overlooked.
2. Neutral evaluation criteria already in recruiting
Application procedures are an effective lever for change. “I was working for a company and as a result I suggested that instead of evaluating people’s CVs, we gave applicants tasks and based our selection on the results,” says Nordell.
The team did not know the candidate’s name, origin, appearance, gender and previous professional experience – a blind recruitment process. “We really tried to be as objective as possible with this, and that led to interviewing some interesting people who otherwise might not have made it into the interviews,” she adds.
Aside from the application process, employees who have already been hired will continue to be evaluated. In the course of professional life, it is important to master projects, lead teams or familiarize yourself with a new position.
“Criteria for such evaluations should be defined in advance and apply to all employees,” explains Nordell. This is particularly important, “because when seemingly objective criteria are adjusted for certain people, bias quickly creeps in”.
3. Zero tolerance policy for discrimination, even if it is unconscious
Nordell knows many companies in which the work of women is not recognized or the next higher colleague is praised for it. “It’s really common,” says the author. It is therefore important that executives recognize that precisely such behaviors are the problems with which the simulated “norm corp” has been fed. It’s clear where it all ends.
“So what we need is leaders who say, ‘Look, this is not acceptable behavior in our organization. Anyone who has carried out a project receives the recognition for it and not the male colleague or team leader’”, says Nordell, who sees a clear zero-tolerance policy for unconscious discrimination as an important mechanism.
4. Mentoring programs to overcome gender differences
Mentoring programs can also be helpful in breaking down encrusted structures. “When managers direct and support women, their chances of advancement improve,” says Nordell. It is important to have someone on the upper floors as an advocate who is a contact person, keeps an eye on personal development and can point the way.
Why quotas only change something in the short term
“Of course there are a lot of measures I can take, but they’re useless if there’s no motivation from above,” says Nordell. Quotas could force managers to promote women and bring them to the upper levels of the corporate hierarchy. However, this will only be short-lived if social prejudice persists.
More about women on boards
From her interviews and research, Nordell knows that sooner or later the inequalities will return or find other ways. “And if the boss recognizes that, the company is in a great position because the course can still be set in the right direction,” says Nordell.
The author has seen many examples of how change is possible “and we don’t necessarily have to steer towards the result of the Norm Corp”.
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