Unconscious Bias: Recognising and Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Inclusion in Tourism and Hospitality Industry

Introduction

In recent years, the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace has gained significant recognition across various industries. The tourism and hospitality industry is increasingly recognizing the significance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, particularly in fostering an inclusive environment. However, unconscious bias is often overlooked as a significant obstacle to progress towards inclusion.

According to Imperial College London (2020), unconscious bias refers to associations we hold outside our conscious control, affecting everyone. It is triggered by our brain making quick judgments and assessments, influenced by background, personal experiences, societal stereotypes, and cultural context. It can affect attitudes and behaviours, especially towards others, and can lead to inequality in workplace decisions such as selection, recruitment, appraisals, and promotion. It is not limited to gender, ethnicity, or visible diversity characteristics.

Unconscious bias is a significant issue within the tourism and hospitality industry. Pavesic and Brymer (2017) highlights how biases related to race, ethnicity, gender, age, and disability can lead to discrimination and contribute to a hostile work environment (as cited in Volo, 2020). These biases can impact hiring decisions, customer interactions, and overall employee morale. A study conducted by Kim and Jogaratnam (2019) indicates that unconscious biases can affect customer service quality, which is crucial in the hospitality sector (as cited in López-Cabrales et al., 2020). Consequently, the industry's failure to address unconscious bias not only undermines diversity and inclusion efforts but also hinders customer satisfaction and employee well-being.

                                                                                              Source: YouTube

Recognising Different Types of Unconscious Biases and Its Impact on HRM Practices

There are more than 16 types of unconscious biases identified through research and here are some of the common types of unconscious biases found at workplace.

1. Halo Effect: A psychological concept introduced by psychologist Edward Thorndike in the 1920s, refers to the tendency to create a positive impression of someone based on their traits, often due to limited information (Asana,2022). For example, the recruitment process can be influenced by a hiring manager's perception of a candidate's academic achievements (e.g.: prestigious school), leading to an assumption of their job proficiency. Focusing too much on one positive trait can overlook negative behaviour, potentially harming the company, such as if a candidate was fired for misconduct in a previous job.

    2. Horn Effect: The opposite of halo effect is the “horns effect” where a snap judgement is made based on a single negative trait. For example, a new team member thinks the constructive criticism they received from their manager is harsh and assumes that their manager is a critical and stern person. If left unchecked, the horns effect can damage the cohesiveness and trust between team members.

     3. Similarity or Affinity Bias: According to Keeler and Sander (2021) similarity or affinity bias makes us gravitate toward people similar to us, evaluating their ideas more positively than others’. This “mini-me effect” confirms the holder as a person and my special attributes in a positive way. This leads to homogeneous groups at risk of not considering all possible alternatives and making wrong decisions.

4. Confirmation Bias: where we tend to believe things that align with our worldview, while ignoring those that contradict it, leading to a biased perception. For example, a manager's unconscious bias may lead to a decision not to offer a raise or recommend promotion to young employees, despite their hard work and their significant hours worked (Yoon, 2020).

5. Attribution Bias: makes us falsely attribute other people’s actions to some flawed personal characteristic rather than situational factors. In a business context, supervisors attribute successful projects largely to the work of male collaborators while discounting the female labour that went into them.

Hidden Barriers of Unconscious Bias and Its Impact on Inclusion

Unconscious bias in HRM practices in the tourism and hospitality industry can hinder inclusive work environments, negatively impacting employee satisfaction, career progression, and organizational success. Let's explore the hidden barriers of unconscious bias and its impact on inclusion efforts:

Hidden Barriers

Impact on Inclusion

1.Performance Evaluation Bias: Unconscious biases can significantly influence the evaluation and reward of employees, potentially causing disadvantage to certain groups. Dovidio et al. (2011) discusses how implicit biases can lead to discrepancies in performance evaluations based on race or gender.     2.Mentoring and Sponsorship: Unconscious biases can significantly impact our behaviour, as individuals may be more inclined to support those who share similar traits. Ragins and Cotton (1991) highlights how this bias can hinder career advancement opportunities for underrepresented employees.   3.Hiring Homophily: Individuals often unconsciously prefer candidates who share similarities with themselves. Valian (1998) illustrates how this bias can limit diversity in recruitment, impacting the representation of different groups within the workforce.

1.Employee Satisfaction and Engagement: Employees' trust in an organization can be damaged when they perceive bias in decision-making processes. Herring (2009) suggests that creating an inclusive and diverse workplace positively correlates with employee job satisfaction, which is essential for retaining talent in the competitive tourism and hospitality industry.   2.Career Progression and Advancement: Unconscious biases can significantly impact promotion and advancement decisions, resulting in the underrepresentation of certain groups in leadership positions. Cox and Blake (1991) highlight that biased practices can perpetuate inequality and hinder the development of a diverse leadership pipeline.   3.Organizational Reputation: In an industry that thrives on guest interactions, biased behaviour from employees can negatively impact guest experiences. Negative interactions can spread through word-of-mouth and online reviews, potentially damaging the industry's reputation for inclusivity and customer service (Herring, 2009).

 

Strategies for Recognizing and Overcoming Unconscious Bias

    1. Education and Awareness Training: Bias training helps individuals identify and address their biases, particularly in the hiring process. By recognizing personal biases, hiring managers can change their mentality and address bias issues on a personal level (Randall, n.d.).

    2. Talent Assessments and Candidate Scorecards: According to Reiners (2023), organisations should develop objective interview and hiring methods. Talent assessments and interview scorecards create a common structure for grading all candidates, which ensures interviews stay the course and do not dive too deep into candidates’ personal backgrounds.

3. Data Analysis: Analysing workplace data, including hiring, promotion, and performance metrics, can identify unconscious biases influencing decisions and help target effective interventions.

4. Blind Recruitment and Evaluation: As per Indeed (2023) this is a strategy that removes personal information from applications and resumes, which can help avoid unconscious bias and objectively assess a candidate's qualifications. This can be done manually or automatically using software during the recruitment process.

5. Diverse Hiring Panels: With diversity comes multiple perspectives. When members of a committee or a panel bring a variety of backgrounds, cultures and experiences, they are more likely to make inclusive decisions. Different views and perspectives lead to more thorough critical thinking, and a greater chance of overcoming any unconscious biases (Monash University, 2023).

Examples of Organisations Handling Unconscious Bias

Unconscious bias is a significant challenge for recruiters in identifying the best talent, but some companies are actively working to address this issue. Son (2020) highlights on following two examples of companies that are demonstrating effective methods for handling this issue.

1. Dialpad: AI can be used to level the playing field in hiring, as demonstrated by Dialpad. Instead of using a notetaker during interviews, Dialpad uses AI-driven speech recognition and real-time transcription. This eliminates the need for notetaking, allowing all team members to participate and contribute. Additionally, AI speech recognition provides more accurate assessments of candidate personality and behaviour, as it can't form impressions, resulting in more accurate results.

2. Unilever: a consumer goods company, updated its hiring process to accommodate its diverse customer base through three distinct methods. The company opted for a new hiring method, reducing campus visits and instead requiring candidates to submit their LinkedIn profiles. They then played games using the Pymetrics platform, a combination of neuroscientific principles and artificial intelligence, to rate their soft skills. A shortlist was then invited for video interviews using similar AI analysis methods. After completing the recruitment process, only the most promising candidates are chosen for job auditions to assess their suitability for future roles. 

Conclusion

Unconscious bias in the workplace leads to unfair hiring, promotion, and compensation practices, affecting employee productivity, engagement, and retention. Awareness of these biases in the tourism and hospitality industry can help eliminate them and enhance diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace.

 

The journey to overcoming unconscious bias in tourism and hospitality industry is ongoing. It’s a journey that requires dedication, education, and collaboration. Let’s empower ourselves to be bold, ally, and role model by questioning ourselves and supporting others in conversations. Create inclusive practices in daily activities, especially in meetings. Valuing individual differences, seeking feedback, accepting responsibility, and taking action on inappropriate behaviours are essential for a world where change doesn't happen by standing still.

Strive to become more mindful of your own unconscious biases. The Harvard Implicit Association Tests (IAT) is an effective online tool for gaining awareness of one's biases, measuring the strength of associations between concepts such as religion, age, disability, gender-career, sexuality, and race, thereby enhancing one's understanding of their own biases.

Be conscious of your unconscious biases!

 

List of References

Asana (2021). 19 Unconscious Bias Examples and How to Prevent Them.  [online] Asana. Available at: https://asana.com/resources/unconscious-bias-examples. [Accessed on 17 August 2023].

 

Cox, T., & Blake, S. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational competitiveness. Academy of Management Executive, 5(3), 45-56.

Dovidio, J. F., Hewstone, M., Glick, P., & Esses, V. M. (Eds.). (2011). The Sage Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination. SAGE Publications.

Herring, C. (2009). Does diversity pay?: Race, gender, and the business case for diversity. American Sociological Review, 74(2), 208-224.

Imperial College London (2022). Unconscious bias. [online] Imperial College London. Available at: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/equality/resources/unconscious-bias/. [Accessed on 17 August 2023].

‌Indeed (2023). 5 Types of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace & How To Eliminate Them. [online] Indeed.  Available at: https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/unconscious-bias [Accessed: 18 August 2023].

Keller, N. and Sander, G. (2021). How to deal with unconscious biases in human resources decisions. [online] Diversity & Inclusion Platform. Available at: https://www.diversity-inclusion-platform.ch/en/how-to-deal-with-unconscious-biases-in-human-resources-decisions/?noredirect=en-US. [Accessed on 17 August 2023].

López-Cabrales, Á., Pérez-Esparrells, C., Pérez-Cabañero, C., & Molina-Azorín, J. F. (2020). The role of gender in addressing unconscious bias in the hospitality industry. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 39(3), 270-287.

Ragins, B. R., & Cotton, J. L. (1991). Easier Said Than Done: Gender Differences in Perceived Barriers to Gaining a Mentor. Academy of Management Journal, 34(4), 939-951.

Randall, R (n.d.). Workplace Bias: 15 Types HR Should Know About in 2023. [online] Eddy. Utah. Available at: https://eddy.com/hr-encyclopedia/workplace-bias/#:~:text=Confirmation%20bias%2C%20similarity%20bias%2C%20affinity [Accessed 17 August 2023].

 

‌Reiners, B. (2023). 12 Unconscious Bias Examples and How to Avoid Them in the Workplace. [online] Built In. Available at: https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/unconscious-bias-examples.

Monash University. (n.d.). Unconscious bias. [online] Available at: https://www.monash.edu/about/who/equity-diversity-inclusion/staff/equitable-decision-making/unconscious-bias. [Accessed: 18 August 2023].

‌Son, S. (2020). How These Innovative Companies Address Unconscious Bias in Recruiting. [online] Humanly.io. Available at: https://humanly.io/how-these-innovative-companies-address-unconscious-bias-in-recruiting/. [Accessed: 19 August 2023].

Valian, V. (1998). Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women. MIT Press.

Volo, S. (2020). Unconscious bias and human resources in the tourism and hospitality sector: A research agenda. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 19(4), 400-413.

Yoon, J. (2020). Seven Types of Unconscious Bias That Affect Everyone. [online] Development Dimensions International (DDI). Available at: https://www.ddiworld.com/blog/types-of-unconscious-bias [Accessed on 17 August 2023].