We All Carry Bias
Many years ago, I was taking a taxi from the Seattle airport. As I am known to do, I asked my driver about his background and aspirations. He told me he was from Somalia and was a software engineer by training. Surprised, I asked why he was driving a cab. His response was simple: he couldn't get an interview with any tech companies. Not as a Somalian.
"What about Microsoft?" I suggested. "I have a couple friends from Africa who work there."
"They're probably Nigerian," he replied matter-of-factly. "Like hires like."
His words would come back to me later, when I found myself on the other side of the hiring table. My colleague and I were tasked with identifying five candidates to interview for a data analyst position. We each took half of a pre-screened stack of resumes, selected our top choices, and then switched piles to review each other's selections.
Unconscious bias was hard at work. My colleague, who has an Indian last name, had exclusively selected candidates from IIT - India’s top technical institute. Because he knew, just by virtue of IIT, it would mean they'd already proven themselves. I, with my last name, had chosen candidates from Ivy Leagues or Brandeis. For the same reason: because the names looked familiar to me. There was a safety in the familiar.
"Where's Brandeis?" he asked.
"Massachusetts."
"Never heard of it."
"You're not Jewish."
—
“What’s IIT?” I asked.
“Harder to get into than Harvard.”
“Never heard of it.”
“You’re not Indian.”
The moment we realized what we'd done, we just stared at each other, stunned. Here we were, two professionals who considered ourselves enlightened and progressive, unconsciously perpetuating the very pattern my Somalian taxi driver had pinned. We started over, this time covering up the names and focusing only on work experience, disregarding education entirely. Our second round of selections showed far more overlap and, more importantly, reflected a more diverse pool of qualified candidates.
This experience fundamentally shaped my understanding of why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — DEI — programs are essential. They're not just buzzwords or political talking points — they're systematic approaches to ensure every resume gets a fair look, that we don't only hire "like." They're guardrails against our own unconscious biases, biases we may not even realize we carry.
Data consistently shows that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones. There is an extensive body of research on the benefits of diversity and inclusion, and the downside of homogeneity: namely, groupthink and forced conformity. Among diverse teams, employee productivity is higher. They’re better at processing information. More innovative. More creative. But beyond metrics, diversity in the workplace is about creating an environment where different perspectives can flourish, where life experiences can inform decision-making, and where talent isn't overlooked because of a name at the top of a resume.
“Diverse teams are more likely to constantly reexamine facts and remain objective.”
I've since made it a point throughout my career to build intentionally diverse teams, not because it's politically correct, but because a diversity of exposure and experience makes business sense, it makes for way more creative problem solving (and it's the right thing to do). The latest politicization of DEI initiatives is a smokescreen to obscure the real issue: equal opportunity and fair treatment for all qualified candidates, regardless of background.
DEI is being wielded as a political weapon, blaming organizational failures on diversity initiatives. The path forward isn't about lowering standards or implementing quotas – it's about removing the invisible barriers that our biases create. It's about acknowledging that talent and capability come in all forms, from all backgrounds. It's about ensuring that every qualified candidate gets a fair shot at success, regardless of their name, background, or appearance.
Because at the end of the day, the question isn't whether we have biases – we all do. The question is what we're going to do about them.
