Introduction
Gender bias is a problem that plagues the hiring process, especially during recruitment and selection. It refers to the discriminatory treatment of individuals during the hiring and selection processes because of their gender. Hiring decisions could be influenced by preconceived stereotypes about a certain gender group. Gender bias is a problem that needs to be addressed for both men and women to enjoy equal opportunities about professional achievement and development.
For many years, the issue of sexism has been discussed as a common challenge in workplaces across all industries. Experts argue that the decision to reserve certain roles for men or women amounts to sexism. In many industries, including engineering, medicine, science, and construction, women are usually discriminated against during hiring because the majority of the roles are considered masculine. They are denied opportunities to pursue careers in these fields because of the implicit and explicit exercise of gender bias during the recruitment and selection processes of hiring.
Gender Bias in Recruitment and Selection
Significant progress has been made in the last few decades about increasing gender diversity in workplaces. Labor organizations have made several requests to employers for an increment in the number of women in the labor force. However, the issue of gender bias during hiring continues to serve as an obstacle to the attainment of this goal. The participation of women in careers that were traditionally viewed as the masculine has increased significantly. However, they are still underrepresented in many professions as society has not fully embraced the fact that men and women are equal in terms of their potential for achievement (Gonzalez et al., 2019).
This is evident from the numerous women who have achieved excellence in fields that include entrepreneurship, engineering, medicine, and science. Gender-based discrimination denies women the opportunity to improve their economic statuses through the pursuance of careers that they are passionate about. The challenge of gender bias during hiring is evident in many industries from the disproportionately small number of women (Gonzalez et al., 2019). In many organizations that purport to value gender diversity, women are usually denied top leadership positions and relegated to roles in the area of human resource management.
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant because of their gender. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any individual because of their race, color, religion, national origin, or gender. This provision of the constitution requires employers to offer employment opportunities for both men and women indiscriminately. However, over the years, the law has been disregarded and women have suffered immensely because of societal norms and social constructs that put them at a disadvantage. The situation has changed over the last three decades. However, in some societies in the Middle East, women are still considered inferior to men, and therefore, not their equals.
Causes of Gender Bias during Hiring
As mentioned earlier, gender bias is the implicit or explicit discrimination of job applicants during the hiring process, mainly because of their gender. Research has shown that during the recruitment and selection processes, employers are more likely to hire a man than a woman if the two job applicants possess similar qualifications (Ahmed et al., 2021). One of the most pervasive arguments regarding gender bias is the influence of stereotypes.
In many cultures across the world, people hold different social stereotypes regarding people belonging to specific groups (Gonzalez et al., 2019). For instance, in many societies, women are considered the weaker sex in terms of their physical and mental capabilities. Therefore, any job that requires the use of extensive use of brain and brawn, is reserved for men. This is evident from the exclusion of women for many years in several careers in the fields of engineering, security and building, and construction, as well as in sports such as wrestling and boxing (Ahmed et al., 2021).
Many industries favor women during hiring for “easier” roles such as counseling, teaching, acting, and cooking (Ahmed et al., 2021). In a society where gender roles are social constructs, men are viewed as better leaders, more visionary, and better committed at work than women. These factors play a significant role in influencing the decisions of employers during recruitment and selection processes.
According to Coffman et al. (2018), gender bias during the hiring process can be attributed to a concept referred to as “statistical discrimination.” According to economic theory, the possession of imperfect information by employers regarding certain individuals could influence their decisions during hiring (Gonzalez et al., 2019). Statistical discrimination can be described as the selection of candidates based on specific rational beliefs that originate from differences in abilities and skills between the genders, rather than prejudice (Coffman et al., 2018). They use group averages and other qualifications that are difficult to standardize in deciding who to hire (Gonzalez et al., 2019).
In that regard, employers favor men over women because of the belief that men are more suited to perform various tasks than women. In their study, Coffman et al. (2018) concluded that many cases of discrimination during hiring are not based on gender, but on the unwillingness of employers to choose candidates that belong to a group that has been shown to perform worse on average. Both gender and statistical discrimination are unethical because they deny women the opportunity to pursue careers of their choice.
How to Eradicate Gender Bias in Hiring
Gender bias is a pervasive problem that is difficult to eradicate because of its association with societal beliefs and norms. However, several measures can be implemented to mitigate the problem. One of the most effective techniques that can eliminate gender bias in the processes of recruitment and selection is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Changing the beliefs and preconceived stereotypes that people hold about other groups is difficult.
This is primarily due to the differences in cultures in different societies across the world. Therefore, it would be necessary for employers to replace humans with AI technologies. This would be effective if AI applications used in hiring would be programmed to disregard the gender of job applicants and focus on their achievements (Geetha & Reddy, 2018). Currently, many organizations are using software applications to screen and grade job applicants based on the contents of their resumes. Technological applications cannot be as biased as humans are unless they are programmed to consider the gender of candidates during the hiring process.
AI would alleviate gender bias in hiring in two main ways. First, it would reduce the number of decisions that are made by people, and second, it would use algorithms that are based on scientific data to choose the most suitable candidates (Geetha & Reddy, 2018). In many industries, algorithms have been successfully applied to the improvement of decision-making. Research has shown that AI has the potential to address the issue of gender bias effectively because of its potential to eliminate bias in human processes and decisions (Geetha & Reddy, 2018). It would create a level field for all job applicants regardless of their gender.
The assessment of candidates for jobs based on their skills and abilities would eliminate gender bias. The only way that AI would discriminate against applicants based on their gender is if a human programming biased data into the system used for hiring. Otherwise, if the creators of AI input accurate data, then the problem can be solved completely (Geetha & Reddy, 2018). It would be important for the creators of AI applications used in hiring to embrace diversity for them to develop codes that promote inclusivity.
Conclusion
For many decades, gender bias in hiring has been a problem that many organizations have dealt with. The underrepresentation of women in various careers can be attributed to the influence of social constructs such as cultural beliefs and stereotypes that promote gender bias during the processes of recruitment and selection. Many employers prefer to hire men because of the perceived notion that they are more committed and they perform better. The major causes of gender bias are statistical discrimination and stereotypes. To solve this problem, it would be necessary for employers to use AI in the hiring process. Technological applications would eradicate gender bias by reducing the number of decisions made by people and evaluating people based on their skills and abilities.
References
Ahmed, A., Granberg, M., & Khanna, S. (2021). Gender discrimination in hiring: An experimental reexamination of the Swedish case. PLOS One, 16(1), e0245513. Web.
Coffman, K. B., Exley, C. L., & Niederle, M. (2018). The role of beliefs in driving gender discrimination. Harvard Business School, Working Paper 18-054. Web.
Geetha, R., & Reddy, B. S. (2018). Recruitment through artificial intelligence: A conceptual study. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET), 9(7), 63-70. Web.
Gonzalez, M. J., Cortina, C., & Rodriguez, J. (2019). The role of gender stereotypes in hiring: A field experiment. European Sociological Review, 35(2), 187-204. Web.