Google, just like almost all other tech companies, is suffering from a workforce diversity problem, with the company tagging unconscious bias as one factor for the issue.
The company is trying to address the unconscious bias that women are suffering from through an information campaign that includes a video and talks for Google employees.
Google previously revealed that the workforce of the company is predominantly male, making up 70 percent of Google employees. For leadership roles, only 21 percent are held by women.
Ethnicity in the Google workforce is also dominated by two sectors, as 61 percent is made up of white individuals while 30 percent is made up of Asians.
"We believe in removing barriers so Googlers can focus on the things and people they love, and that it's important to provide benefits that serve the unique needs of our Googlers," the company said.
Unconscious bias seems to be one of the barriers that Google has determined needs to be eliminated as the company seeks to understand why the workforce is skewed towards the male gender.
The concept of unconscious bias refers to the tendency of individuals to make snap judgments. While this tendency is sometimes useful, such as deciding not to ride a taxi cab that has no plate number, unconscious bias can also lead individuals to discriminating others, such as thinking that a woman cannot be appointed as leader.
Laszlo Bock, the head of Google's HR division, learned of unconscious bias when he read a study by Yale University that showed that professors view female students as less competent than male students, even if they have the same skills and accomplishments.
Bock thought that the issue could also be found in Google, and began programs to address the problem. The HR department of Google is now working on a major pro-diversity initiative that already has half of the 49,000 employees of the company taking the workshop.
Google, which also prepared the video "Making the unconscious conscious" to address the issue, identified four steps in eliminating harmful unconscious bias.
First, people should gather facts about the issue. Second, people should create structures for decision-making that eliminates bias. Third, people should be mindful of subtle cues that can have big effects if changed. Fourth, people should foster awareness by holding themselves and their fellow employees accountable.
"I think it's terrific that they're doing this," said Kapor Center for Social Impact co-chairwoman Freada Kapor Klein. "But it's going to be important that Google not just give a lecture about the science, but that there be active strategies on how to mitigate bias. A one-shot intervention against a lifetime of biased messages is unlikely to be successful."
