Blind Spots

Preface

Imagine a page with the heading ‘Gender' at the top. On one side we list issues that we encounter in the HR or culture department, such as unconscious bias, wage gap, glass ceiling, equal opportunity and workforce diversity.

Somewhere at the bottom of the page we note more personal subjects around sexuality and identity, such as transgender evolutions, sexual preferences and the blurring of domestic roles.

Then over on the other side of the page we add another large head-ing, ‘Womenomics' or ‘The female economy', then note down some of the economic issues relating to women's impact in the marketplace and their financial leverage today in the consumer economy.

Now many of these points can be connected by dotted or blurry lines, but still they are all very different subjects.

It is no wonder that confronting these issues is inherently confusing, which often means this useful exercise ends up in the ‘too hard basket'.

On the HR side, many workplace headaches and difficulties can make us feel a bit uneasy, emotional or just worn out. Years of discussion of all this have made us a bit weary and wary, but treating genders equally while celebrating their differences is such an important dynamic when it comes to moving society forward. Unconscious bias is tricky because ...