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Gender bias is impacting your employees in ways you may not realise.
Did you know that women with disabilities face disproportionate challenges in the workplace? A new report by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work along with Stats Canada found that 28% of those women did not receive accommodations for their disabilities when they requested them, compared to 19% of men. But disability rates in women are on the rise - now at 30% up from 24% in 2017. So why are we holding them back from staying in the workforce? Not focusing on reasonable accommodations often leads to a loss of critical talent. It could be unconscious bias and stereotyping. Unconscious gender bias is defined as unintentional and automatic mental associations based on gender, stemming from traditions, norms, values, culture, and/or experience. Automatic associations feed into decision-making, enabling a quick assessment of an individual according to gender and gender stereotypes. Anyone of any age, gender and background can have an unconscious bias. Historically women have been left out of medical study which has led to women experiencing 75% of adverse drug reactions. It also means that women are 7X more likely to be discharged while having a heart attack over a man. There are thousands of accounts online of women’s struggles to receive care, especially around pain management. Studies show that Women are more likely to receive prescription for sedative than pain medication for the same pain a man experiences and is prescribed pain meds. Women who present with the same pain as men in the ER, For acute abdominal pain, wait 65 minutes for pain medication compared to 49 mins for men. This leads one to wonder how this attitude towards listening to women translates into the workplace. Could employers (male and female) be dismissing women’s need for accommodation? The HR Reporter articles note that "There are attitudes that employers have, which are preventing them from harnessing the productivity gains from employees, disabled employees. And they are really losing out in terms of the longer-term perspective”. In fact inventing in women’s health has a 3x return! So how does one tackle their unconscious bias? First, you can acknowledge that it’s likely you have some! You can easily do a google search to learn about the different types of bias. Often awareness is enough to make a positive impact. Then, as you have thoughts on situations, examine your thought. Ask yourself, why do I think that? Is it true? Would I feel differently if this situation was a bit different (man vs women, age – older vs younger, race etc). Then adjust your thought/action accordingly. https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/diversity/women-with-disabilities-less-likely-to-have-accommodations-finds-study/390705 Comments are closed.
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