Fresh Perspectives – Managing Unconscious Bias

Today was an interesting day at Freshworks. Something simple yet powerful unfolded amongst us. Sindhuja Parthasarathy from the HR team sparked a light-hearted activity with a deeper dimension. It was a challenge, to challenge gender stereotypes.

Objectivity is an illusion deeply imbibed in us and the English language even has a term for it – ‘Unconscious Bias’. I remember a research that suggested we all are vulnerable, thanks to the deeply ingrained preconceptions we are conditioned to embrace. We dismiss this as racism or sexism, but the truth is most of us don’t even realize the discrimination we are subjected to, or that we subject others to!

At Freshworks, we believe that a successful organization is built on the foundation of inclusiveness and embracing diversity, be it race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or diversity of thought. The most important step is being aware of our biases before we jump into workshops on managing unconscious bias.

The Challenge

It was simple and fun – click a picture of yourself or your peers holding placards of scenarios that challenge gender bias, and post it on our Workplace. The underlying idea was to throw light on biases that influence the choices we make at work, and in our personal lives.

There were only a couple of pictures in the morning, but by lunchtime it was the buzz of the entire office. Everyone was seen holding a placard, and soon we had more than the anticipated entries.

Here are a few that caught my eye.

The click that started it all