Your gay voice and appearance could harm your career
We’ve all been told to be careful what we say at work, but now some seem to think we need to be careful how we say it because your gay voice and appearance could hurt your career. A study from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom showed that men and women are less likely to be hired into leadership positions based on the sound of their voices.
Stereotypes about your gay voice are heard loud and clear
Who would have thought that the sound of a person’s voice would be a determining factor in whether or not someone would be hired and promoted? That’s true, according to a 2017 study from Great Britain
The study asked participants acting as human resources managers to evaluate potential candidates for a fake CEO position. Human resources managers were asked to rate candidates’ employability on a scale of 1 to 5 and to indicate salaries that they considered appropriate for the candidate’s position and qualifications. The potential candidates were evaluated and selected based on voice and image samples from a pool of heterosexual and homosexual candidates.
The results were quite surprising.
For the male candidates in the group, the sound of the voices played a crucial role in the outcome. It found that men who “sounded gay” were viewed as less suitable for the position. Additionally, those who were perceived as gay were less likely to receive higher paying salaries than those with “male-sounding” voices. The results were similar for women. If a woman was perceived as gender non-conforming or less feminine, she received lower marks for employability and salary.
We might ask: What if the seemingly non-conforming candidate is not gay or lesbian? Is it fair that they are punished for their natural characteristics? Does that even matter?
Create the conditions for discrimination against your gay voice
It is unnecessary but necessary to reiterate that in 30 states in the United States it is still not against the law to fire or not hire someone because They are perceived as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The same applies to the granting of equal remuneration.
Because of this stereotyping, it is very likely that in these and other states, worthy candidates with the right qualifications and experience that will contribute to a company’s success are ignored or underemployed. What does this mean for a company’s bottom line? Why would a company want to miss the opportunity to have the best candidate?
Dr. Fasoli, who conducted the above study, said: “It is revealing that despite all efforts to reduce discrimination against the LGBT community, people unconsciously typecast a person before getting to know them.” This study shows that there is a real problem in the workplace and for people’s career prospects.” For this reason, we must seize every opportunity that comes our way and our careers.
Solve the unconscious bias against your gay voice, your gay appearance and all differences
Dominic Barton of McKinsey & Company, a global leader in management consulting, explained: “We have a mission statement with two equal parts. The first is to leave a lasting impression on our customers and the second is to attract and retain the best talent. We cannot achieve either without attracting a diverse range of the best talent available. That’s why we need LGBTQ people who feel comfortable at McKinsey & Company as a good place to work.”
How do companies ensure that all employees feel supported to bring their whole, authentic self to work and give 100%? The key is to help all employees overcome unconscious bias.
However, today we have learned to rely on the unconscious abilities of our mind. We are no longer exposed to the same environmental hazards as we once were, which can lead to negative unconscious bias.
It’s true that there are good unconscious biases. These protect us from the real threats of today, such as the sight of a figure at the end of a dark alley, and sharpen our senses for possible dangers. The negative aspect of this unconscious bias would be the belief that someone of a certain gender or ethnic background is more dangerous than another.
Where there is bias against your gay voice and how to correct it
According to Google’s Unconscious Bias Training, there are four main areas where this bias can exist. This tells us why we encounter biases related to voice and facial features. These come directly from Google’s employee training;
Four things in the workplace often trigger unconscious bias. Task: We associate certain professions with a certain type of person. Pay: When looking at a group, such as job applicants, we are more likely to use biases to analyze people from marginalized groups. clarity: When information is missing, our brain fills in the gaps with what we expect. Perceiver: A heightened emotional state can distract consciousness.
As the first two points illustrate, we can form a bias about the type of person we think is suitable for a job or make assumptions about certain demographics of applicants. Surrey’s study appears to have played a role in this.
How can this be fixed?
As with most problems, the first step is to identify a problem. The second is to take steps to understand the problem, and the third is to put practices in place to help employees at all levels become aware of the problem. In the case of the Surrey study, it seems fitting that human resources managers and recruiters are the best candidates to receive such bias training first. If there is a culture of unconscious bias in not promoting or hiring because of a person’s differences, then removing this barrier and hiring a diverse workforce would demonstrate to others that these unconscious biases are unwarranted or unwelcome in the workplace. Furthermore, we must be our own most prominent advocates.
As Google’s training shows, there are additional benefits too. “Groups with diverse problem solvers can outperform groups with high-performing problem solvers.” Todd Sears of OutLeadership calls this “Return on Equality” when it comes to LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace. He and his organization have repeatedly pointed out that companies worldwide are losing billions of dollars due to obvious or unconscious discrimination.
The obvious question is: Are you and your company ready to eliminate unconscious bias to start hiring the best candidates and allow all employees to thrive?