Wokeness: Are Our Beliefs in Line with Our Actions?

Introduction:

In today’s socio-political climate, buzzwords like ‘woke,’ ‘MeToo,’ and ‘DEI’ is often used to describe an awareness of social and political injustices, particularly those that pertain to gender bias. However, a closer look reveals a dichotomy between external actions and internal beliefs.

Historical Context and Legal Framework

To understand the current landscape, it’s essential to examine the historical context and legal framework that underpin efforts to address gender bias in the workplace. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were landmark legislations prohibiting gender discrimination in employment. These laws provided a crucial foundation for future legal battles against gender bias.

Prevalence of Gender Bias

Despite legal protections, gender bias persists in many forms in the workplace. Numerous studies have documented its prevalence and impact on individuals and organizations. According to a study by Catalyst, a global nonprofit focused on advancing women in the workplace, women continue to face barriers to career advancement, including stereotypes, limited access to leadership roles, and biases in performance evaluations¹.

Unconscious Bias and Its Effects

Unconscious biases play a significant role in perpetuating gender bias in the workplace. These biases, often deeply ingrained and unintentional, affect decision-making processes related to hiring, promotions, and compensation. Research conducted by Harvard University’s Project Implicit has revealed that men and women exhibit implicit biases favoring men in hiring and promotion decisions².

Challenging the Status Quo

Creating an inclusive and equitable work environment requires challenging the status quo and promoting awareness of unconscious biases. Organizations can implement training programs and workshops focused on unconscious bias to foster understanding and reduce its impact. In a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers found that such interventions can significantly change people’s attitudes and behaviors, resulting in fairer decision-making processes³.

Intersectionality and Multiple Forms of Bias

Gender bias intersects with other forms of bias, such as racial and ethnic bias, further compounding the challenges faced by individuals from marginalized communities. Acknowledging and addressing these intersecting biases is crucial to create a truly inclusive workplace. A study by the American Psychological Association highlighted the need for organizations to adopt an intersectional perspective in their diversity and inclusion efforts to ensure fair treatment for all employees⁴.

Woke, MeToo, and DEI

‘Woke,’ ‘MeToo,’ and ‘DEI’ are not merely about advocating for social justice issues or complying with laws and regulations. They are about genuinely understanding and internalizing the principles of equality and justice. It is about aligning our actions with our beliefs, and in many cases, with new beliefs, and striving for a society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Policy v. Practice

In gender equality, for instance, we see an apparent disjunction between policy and practice. Despite the implementation of laws such as the Equality Act 2010 in the UK⁵ and the enforcement of laws by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), gender bias persists in the workplace and in US courtrooms. A report by McKinsey & Company revealed that women, particularly women of color, are still underrepresented at every level in corporate America⁶.

This disparity between policy and practice suggests that laws can mandate diversity and inclusion but do not necessarily change people’s beliefs. As the study “Do diverse and inclusive workplaces benefit investors? An Empirical Analysis on Europe and the United States” suggests, investors might suffer lower returns for investing in more diverse and inclusive employers⁷. This indicates that despite the push for diversity and inclusion, there is still resistance and bias in the business world.

The concept of “legal discrimination” further illustrates this point. Edelman, Smyth, and Rahim argue that antidiscrimination laws often fail to grasp the reality of [courtroom and] workplace discrimination, condoning racial and gender inequality and creating a form of legal discrimination⁸.

Conclusion

While legal protections and diversity initiatives have progressed in combating gender bias, it remains a deeply entrenched issue in the modern workplace and in our courts. To effect lasting change, organizations and individuals must recognize the presence of unconscious biases, challenge traditional norms, and implement proactive measures to create an inclusive and equitable work environment for all employees. By fostering awareness, promoting education, and embracing intersectionality, society can work toward dismantling the barriers that perpetuate gender bias and enable actual progress toward equality.

Footnotes

1. Catalyst. 2022. “Women in the Workforce: Global.” Catalyst.org. Accessed June 9, 2023. https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-the-workforce-global/.
2. Greenwald, Anthony G., Mahzarin R. Banaji, and Brian A. Nosek. 2009. “Long-Term Reduction in Implicit Race Bias: A Prejudice Habit-Breaking Intervention.” Journal of Applied Psychology 103 (4): 931–942.
3. Devine, Patricia G., Patrick S. Forscher, Anthony J. Austin, and William T. Cox. 2012. “Long-Term Reduction in Implicit Race Bias: A Prejudice Habit-Breaking Intervention.” Journal of Applied Psychology 103 (4): 931–942.
4. Williams and Sánchez-Hucles 2016, 103.
5. Legislation.gov.uk. (2010). Equality Act 2010. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents [Accessed 10 Jun. 2023].
6. McKinsey & Company. (2022). Women in the Workplace 2022.
7. Bax, K. 2022. Do diverse and inclusive workplaces benefit investors? An Empirical Analysis of Europe and the United States. [online] Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.10435 [Accessed 10 Jun. 2023].
8. Edelman, L. B., Smyth, A. C., Rahim, A. (2016). Legal Discrimination: Empirical Sociolegal and Critical Race Perspectives on Antidiscrimination Law. [online] Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2870900 [Accessed 10 Jun. 2023].

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