While companies are subject to laws prohibiting all forms of discrimination in hiring, it is still naive to claim that these biases have completely disappeared.
However, these cognitive shortcuts can have big consequences for us when high stakes rewards like a sought-after job are on the line. In addition to risking legal action, they also take the risk of hiring a less qualified candidate, which will have consequences on the productivity levels of teams. If the effect of gender bias is 4%, the balance sheet could rise to 192 additional hiring failures and a US$17 million loss in productivity, the study estimates.The study also looked at employers’ willingness to reduce gender gaps through what is often termed “affirmative action” or “targeted recruiting.”