How Both Men And Women Often Fall Into The Trap Of Implicit Bias

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How Gender Influences Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is often ignored and its effects could be made to seem implausible. However, and as rightfully indicated by Spencer et al. (51), “while implicit biases may seem subtle, the cumulative effects of repeatedly skewed perceptions and attributions likely have profound effects on life outcomes.” But, before further information regarding implicit bias is divulged, it is crucial to start with the definition. Implicit bias mainly represents the unconscious set of beliefs and associations a person holds about a particular social group. However, this article is specific in its approach and seeks to inquire about the role of gender in implicit bias. So, a definition of implicit gender bias is also offered here. The International Labour Organization defines implicit gender bias as “unintentional and automatic mental associations based on gender, stemming from traditions, norms, values, culture and/or experience” (3). By using the word automatic, the above decision seeks to showcase that these associations become an extension of a person without them realizing it. The ILO article continues to indicate that “automatic associations feed into decision-making, enabling a quick assessment of an individual according to gender and gender stereotypes” (3). At some point, as alluded by the statement above, one’s perception about people and life is unknowingly guided or led by these associations. So, gender, for both men and women, plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions or these mental associations. Based on the above, this article seeks to indicate how both men and women often fall into the trap of implicit bias with men often being the main victims of this unfortunate but factual occurrence.
Everyone often falls victim to implicit bias. As indicated before, implicit bias takes a subtle form and this makes it unnoticeable and normal. In her article, Slaughter talks of how women reacted to her leaving her job to tend to her family. To the critics, her move was diminishing and not worthy of what the women were trying to achieve. She notes “but I routinely got reactions from other women my age or older that ranged from disappointed (“It’s such a pity that you had to leave Washington”) to condescending (“I wouldn’t generalize from your experience. I’ve never had to compromise and my kids turned out great”)” (536). She goes on to say that these reactions “with the underlying assumption that my choice was somehow sad or unfortunate, was irksome enough” (536). The sad bit was she was getting the worst from women who could not believe that she could do something like that. No one cared enough to ask how she felt leaving her children behind but when she sacrifices takes the time to be around them. The implication was clearly that Slaughter was not cut out for the position. Getting such remarks from women made the situation worse because many of them were not bold enough to admit they were struggling to strike a balance between family and work, and then take the initiative to choose family over work. While such women’s remarks did come from a ...