Study Reveals the Effect of Bias Interrupters

Bias within business systems like hiring and performance evaluations poses significant risks for both employees and organizations. That is according to a new report by The Conference Board in partnership with the Equality Action Center (EAC).

Among the negative effects of this workplace bias, the report highlights the financial impact on companies. It can cause high attrition rates, costing up to 150% of an employee’s annual salary, as well as decrease employee engagement, potentially reducing productivity by as much as 20%.

While diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been a growing focus in corporate America—with nearly $8 billion invested in corporate diversity training in 2020 alone and investments expected to double by 2026—most companies do not have the metrics necessary to assess their programs’ effectiveness.

“Addressing bias that is embedded within a business’s systems and processes can seem like—and often is—a daunting task. Companies can move the needle in a meaningful way by treating it like any other business challenge: analyze the data, understand the problem, plan interventions and course corrections, assess the results, and evaluate progress,” said Diana Scott, US Human Capital Center Leader at The Conference Board.

As revealed in the report, companies can make significant strides toward tackling workplace discrimination by implementing the 'Bias Interrupters' framework—an approach based on evidence, action, and commitment. It shares the findings of a two-year project by EAC and The Conference Board applying the framework to the systems and processes of select Members of The Conference Board Human Capital Center, made possible by a grant from Walmart. The study provides insights into using Bias Interrupters in the hiring process, performance evaluations, and access to career-enhancing work.

“The good news is that Bias Interrupters not only help businesses make year-over-year progress towards their inclusion goals; they also are the best way to control for legal risk,” said EAC Director Joan C. Williams, a law professor at University of California Law SF.

Additional findings include:

There’s a business case for using Bias Interrupters in corporate America.

• Workplace bias leads to attrition, which is expensive—often 150% of a worker’s annual salary.
• Workplace bias decreases employee engagement, reducing productivity by roughly 20%.

Billions are being invested in corporate diversity training, but assessment of these programs’ effectiveness trails.

• US corporations spent almost $8 billion on diversity training in 2020 alone. This number is projected to more than double by 2026.
• Most companies do not have the metrics necessary to assess their programs’ effectiveness.

Traditional diversity training often doesn’t work—but Bias Interrupters do.

• DEI workshops can be impactful but cannot interrupt bias built into business systems.

Interrupting bias in the hiring process allows organizations to select the most qualified candidates.

• Metrics help determine whether (and where) certain candidates are falling out of the funnel.
• It is important to keep track of who applies; who comes in through referrals; who makes it through resume review; who makes it through interviews; and who gets the final offer.
• The results: In just a few months’ time, the Bias Interrupters framework increased job offers to men of color by 6 percentage points.

Interrupting bias in performance evaluations leads to better-quality, fairer evaluations.

• Companies should develop specific competency criteria that translates to evidence-based and action-oriented feedback.
• The results: Bias Interrupters increased evidence-based feedback by 44-52 percentage points.

Interrupting bias in access to opportunities requires keeping track of both career-enhancing work and non-promotable office housework.

• Access to high-profile, career-enhancing work is essential for employees to succeed in the workplace. Organizations that want to guarantee their top talent has access to career-enhancing work should keep track of these opportunities—and make changes when they see bias.
• Low profile “office housework”—which encompasses everything from finding a time to meet, cleaning the cups, to doing routine keeping-the-trains running work—will not typically lead to promotion.
• The results: Bias Interrupters eliminated the bias against women in access to career-enhancing core technical work from 13 percentage points to zero.
• The results: Bias Interrupters eliminated the bias against women of color doing more non-promotable office housework from 27 percentage points to zero.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers Trusted Insights for What's Ahead^®. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.ConferenceBoard.org

Equality Action Center
Equality Action Center at UC Law SF seeks to advance racial, gender, and class equality in the workplace and in politics. Our initiatives address inequality at a structural level with concrete, evidence-based interventions. We lead programs that cultivate leadership and level the playing field for everyone. Our focus is pragmatic: our rigorous research is linked with practical steps to produce social or organizational change within a two- to five-year time frame.