HBR IdeaCast

A New Way to Combat Bias at Work

Jan 14, 2020

Joan Williams, a leading professor and the founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings, dives into the complexities of workplace bias. She argues that while eradicating unconscious bias organization-wide is tough, individual managers can effectively interrupt bias within their teams. Williams shares actionable strategies for improving hiring, meeting dynamics, task assignments, and performance reviews. She asserts that embracing these practices can harness the power of diversity and enhance corporate success.

26:42

Creator website

Episode guests

Joan C. Williams

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

4min

Harnessing Diversity for Corporate Success

9min

Enhancing Diversity Through Structured Evaluation

3min

Navigating Bias in Diverse Teams

11min

Empowering Managers to Combat Workplace Bias

3min

Joan Williams, professor and the founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, says that it's extremely difficult for organizations to rid their workforces of the unconscious biases that can prevent women and minorities from advancing. But it's not so hard for individual managers to interrupt bias within their own teams. She offers specific suggestions for how bosses can shift their approach in four areas: hiring, meetings, assignments, and reviews/promotions. Leaders who employ these practices, she argues, are able to embrace and reap the advantages of diversity, even in the absence of larger organizational directives. Williams is the author of the HBR article "How the Best Bosses Interrupt Bias on Their Teams."

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