Do you know how implicit gender bias is impacting your workplace? It is not always easy to spot and the best of us may be guilty of it as well. Men AND women. In fact, do you even know what it looks like? It goes far deeper than overt discrimination you may see with passing promoting someone for partner because of their gender. Or assuming the female attorney is the court reporter. Implicit bias may be passing the menu to the female executive at the table expecting her to order lunch for the room. Or waiting for the female partner to close the door for the deposition after everyone walked into the room. Why do we continue to see this happen? We tackle that very question this week on the Defense Never Rests with a lively panel of women – Jamie Szal, Karly Wannos, Esq. and Helen Yoon – who are three women who each work and practice in male centric fields. They are a seasoned attorneys and experts in their profession. Yet, continue to be confronted with bias. And want to talk about it! Despite being leaders in their practice areas and field, that has not been without continued roadblocks and challenges. Challenges that go to the very core of their assertive and take charge personalities. To what actually makes them amazing at their jobs! In this episode we dig deep into our personal experiences and observations during the course of careers but also some tactics we’ve used to overcome barriers in our way. A common theme among this panel: being our true authentic selves and doing our best not to change despite the pressures to do so. So for those of us in leadership positions – if you are a partner, director, vice president, claims officer, or whatever the position may be – this podcast is a must listen. How can we all make individual changes to lower the implicit bias we may be exhibiting, without even knowing it. Links to the podcast in the comments.
Fixing Gender Bias in the Workplace
BY Patricia Baxter
| March 24, 2022