Even though you may not think so, we all make assumptions, often unconsciously. And so without even thinking about it. These mindbugs, as they are called in science, have a major impact on diversity in the workplace, says researcher Esther Mollema.
Words, not actions
Equality for all is a great asset in our country, our research shows. We believe that men and women are equally capable of holding leadership positions. And we are almost all in favor of more diversity in the workplace. Yet we do not yet know how to turn words into action. How did that happen? In her book “Success in multiplicity” Esther Mollema tries to answer that question.
Equality is the crux
With her company Direction, Esther interviewed more than eleven thousand managers on the subject of diversity. According to her, the equality which we consider here as a fundamental right is precisely the issue. “Because many managers do not want to be bound by a diversity policy. If they have to hire other people to achieve more diversity, they see that as a step backwards. They just want the “best” candidate.”
Is it really the best candidate?
But how do you choose “the best” candidate? And is the best really the best? That’s just the question, Esther says. “We make a lot of decisions, perhaps 90 percent, unconsciously. Our brain makes a selection for us. That is nice, because one day you get so many stimuli and information that it would otherwise be very difficult to deal with this. But there is also a downside: we do not see the world as it really is and what actually happens, but only an interpretation of it. We depend on what our brain makes of it. ”
Nanosecond
These interpretations of our brain also bring with it unconscious prejudices, which can influence your behavior in a nanosecond. These prejudices, labeled by Mahzarin Banaji, professor of Social Ethics at Harvard, as “mindbugs” – are often based on a certain line of thought. Esther: “An example of a mindbug is that women with headscarves are less suitable as leaders. People who have this mindbug probably think that these women are forced by their partner or parents to wear a headscarf and are therefore submissive. ”
Mindbugs? Discuss them!
What can we do with this science now? “You can’t help that you have mindbugs. But how you act on it; you can influence that, “says Esther. “It is important to openly and honestly discuss mindbugs in a team and involve multiple people in reviews. In this way you make mindbugs transparent to each other and you learn to recognize them. This can ultimately contribute to a more diverse workforce. And that is all the more important for an organization like DNB that strives for High Performance (HPO), says Esther. “The more diverse a team, the more likely you are to make each other a little better every day because of your different backgrounds, visions and experiences.”
Read the Interview for the Dutch National Bank here ( in Dutch ) ‘More Diversity? Recognize your own Mindbugs!’ in PDF.
EXAMPLES OF MINDBUGS
One recognizable, the other less so: which mindbugs do you have? And where do they come from? Esther discusses three examples:
- Employees aged 55 and older are exhausted and inflexible “Twenty years ago, only a quarter of the over-55s worked. We let them out during reorganisations and in times of high unemployment. This has fueled the impression in some people that people over 55 no longer feel like it. “
- Someone who does not speak perfect Dutch cannot be an expert on a subject. “Our brain is very attentive to accent and way of talking. That affects the message and how seriously we take it. With someone with a dialect or foreign accent, we sometimes pay more attention to the pronunciation than the content of the message. “
- Men are better leaders. “A typical example of a mind bug that originated a long time ago, when we were still roaming the savannah in groups of 150 people. The strongest figure led the way and was in charge; that was a man at the time. “
Author: Marlieke van der Sijde