Full Colour Friday: Rooting out hidden bias at work

Mar 14, 2025 | D&I

I had to think twice about the title of this special edition of Full Colour Friday: “Rooting out hidden bias at work”. The thing is, bias isn’t hidden to people experiencing it, or to others who share a particular characteristic and can see what’s happening to others like them. Bias is often only hidden to those who don’t share a characteristic and sometimes (though not always…) to those behaving in biased ways.

 

On International Women’s Day (8 March 2025) Full Colour published Through the looking glass. In this report we shone a light on common experiences of career women of colour at work:

  • Microaggressions

  • Overt aggressions

  • Blocks to career progress

  • Double standards

  • Continually having to prove themselves when others’ contributions are taken on trust

  • Feeling isolated as the only woman of colour

  • Being expected to lead on EDI simply because they are women of colour

 

You may think these things don’t happen in your organisation. Think again.

 

I recently met a senior leader (white man) who was telling me about what an amazing place his organisation is to work, and that they didn’t seem to have any issues around equity and inclusion. A few weeks later I met another senior leader in the same organisation (woman of colour) who shared a completely different picture of what minoritised people were experiencing.

 

Just because you can’t see bias at play does not mean it is not happening.

 

The good news is there is a lot you can do to change any or all these things if they are happening in your organisation.

 

1      Examine and respond to the data

 

The key is to collect the right data and take action to address issues surfaced. Two examples:

  • Tracking diversity in recruitment at three stages: who applies, who gets shortlisted, who gets appointed. If people are applying but not getting to interview or being appointed, what might be going on?

  • Tracking exit rates, e.g. do minoritised colleagues stay with you for less time than others? If so, what qualitative work can you do to find out why?

 

2      Develop leaders and managers

 

Most leaders and managers do not set out intentionally to disadvantage women of colour. However, they often lack the competencies needed to lead and manage diverse teams or to recognise and act when problems around bias surface. Organisations could do much to equip leaders and managers to:

  • Understand the practical, interpersonal and systemic challenges career women of colour face

  • Surface and understand their own biases and develop practical actions to counter them

  • Understand what equity and inclusion look like in practice and how to apply this to how they lead and manage

 

3      Focus solutions on the REAL problem

 

Several organisations create development programmes for women and people of colour. These initiatives are welcome; however, they can miss the mark in two ways:

  • They fail to equip women and people of colour with the skills needed to navigate the biases of others or systems that were not created with them in mind

  • They avoid the real issue: addressing the barriers faced by women and people of colour – barriers they did not create.

 

It is critical that employers address the biases of colleagues with “majoritised” characteristics in ways which go beyond bland unconscious bias training.

 

4      Listen to women of colour and support efforts to build community

 

Many large organisations have employee networks related to particular minoritised characteristics. How can leaders:

  • Ensure they regularly attend and listen, when invited to do so?

  • When they cannot attend, ask for feedback on key issues being raised?

  • Act on issues identified by these groups in ways that are resourced where necessary?

 

For organisations not large enough to have employee networks what can leaders do to:

  • Find out what communities and sources of support exist for minoritised people and introduce colleagues to what is out there?

  • Connect career women of colour in their own networks to each other?

 

There are more recommendations in Through the looking glass, for those who want to dive deeper.

 

Need a speaker?

 

Looking for a speaker on this or any other leadership topic? I’d love to hear from you. I am currently booking engagements for South Asian Heritage Month. Feel free to reach out at srabani.sen@fullclr.com and let’s chat.