If you’ve watched shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Hidden Figures and Mad Men, you’ll know that women in every kind of workplace have had to deal with biases. Gender biases come with problems like a lack of pay parity and stunted growth opportunities. In addition to these, women also have to deal with lesser-known workplace biases, some of them unconscious, which further slow down their career trajectory. Here’s what you should watch out for:
Attribution Bias
Imagine this. You’ve just closed an important deal with a client. Instead of attributing it to your skills and ability to negotiate, your manager has complimented you for achieving this based on how you look and dress. In a second scenario, you’ve missed an important meeting. Immediately, your peers have attributed this to being a mom – surely you must have taken off on some childcare emergency! Actually, you have been doing some crisis management and cleaning up the mess left by another colleague. This is essentially Attribution Bias - when people perceive and attribute other people’s personalities and situations differently from reality. These incorrect assumptions are especially harmful to women, often undermining their commitment or ability to take on a role and deliver efficiently.
Affinity Bias
Of all the biases in the workplace, perhaps none is more harmful towards women than Affinity Bias. Very simply put, it is the tendency to gravitate towards people who are exactly like us. ‘Affinity Bias is often an unconscious choice because it’s comforting and also validates your own ideas, skills, and capabilities,’ explains Dr Charulata. ‘Unfortunately, when this comes into play in the workplace, it results in a one-dimensional workforce, lacking in diversity. Fortunately, many companies have managed to create hiring policies that ensure representation across various backgrounds and genders. This doesn’t necessarily translate into career growth and promotions though. If your manager is a man, he may identify more with another man and pass over deserving women for promotions or key projects.’

Confirmation Bias
‘What is confirmation? It’s the need to verify what you already believe,’ explains psychologist Dr Charulata Shetty. ‘Here, you’re not looking for information that could potentially discredit what you believe. In fact, you’re actively discounting it whenever it comes your way and giving more weightage towards what you wish to believe. Women are often at the receiving end of Confirmation Bias, simply because of their gender. Let’s say that an organisation is hiring for a STEM-based role. They believe men are better-suited for such roles than women, and so tend to focus only on what makes their male applicants viable. In doing so, they are likely to discount any evidence that a female candidate can be just as qualified, if not better. Right from the hiring stage, women have to encounter all kinds of confirmation bias.’
Ambiguity Bias
The Ambiguity Bias may seem like it has a lot to do with indecisiveness. Instead, it has a lot to do with a safe decision. Let’s say there’s a vacancy for a project lead in your company. A male manager has executed this role earlier – he wasn’t very great, but he was adequate. On the other hand, you have the capability to do it better and demonstrate all those signs, but you’re passed up because they don’t have enough information on how you’ll perform as a leader. In such a case, they’ll usually zero in on the safer option simply because it is risk-averse. ‘This is essentially because humans feel more strongly about loss than they do about gain,’ explains Dr Charulata. When there is a lot at stake, they will always choose the option with more data than the ambiguous one. When this happens, a company and its employees are stagnant and lacking in innovation. You may become stale and lacklustre over time, with a failing system.’
Conformity Bias
Not-so-fun fact: If there is a conflict at the workplace, men are more likely to stand their ground and stick to their guns. Women on the other hand, are more likely to conform because they believe it will grant them more acceptance at work. ‘When women conform, they are met with positive Conformity Bias. If they disagree, the Bias is negative,’ explains Supraja N, an HR manager. ‘This propels women towards behaviours and attitudes that are more aligned with their colleagues or superiors. Even if it goes against our beliefs, we would like to be viewed as compliant since it grants us approval. Let’s assume your managers and colleagues choose to wear saris every Friday. This is not something you’re comfortable with, but you want to fit in. Even if it’s not an office requirement, you will choose to wear a sari despite your misgivings, simply because it’s easier to conform.’
If you want to battle these biases, the ideal thing to do is to diplomatically call them out with a trusted peer or an understanding superior. If this still doesn’t work, consider setting a meeting with your HR manager and discuss your issues. Remember, women continue to be underrepresented in key spaces, and you can change that!