An open letter to hiring managers.  Have you ever received a letter like the one below? Perhaps not.  But what if the women who you love in your life write such a letter – maybe not to you, but to someone who spurned them during their job search? Would you feel bad if there was a situation that warrants such a heartfelt letter?

An Open Letter to Hiring Managers.

Dear Hiring Manager –

When a woman comes for an interview, do not let these implicit and explicit biases influence your judgment.

• “Seems like she is single. Guess half her time will be spent swiping left and right.”
• “She’s young and childbearing age. Don’t know how many maternity leaves will she go on?”
• “Signs of a single mother. It takes a village to raise a child. Don’t know how often she has to skip or cut work to take care of her kids.”
• “She seems soft. Can she manage the monkey’s island we have here? We need a drill sergeant, not a mom.”

Yours sincerely,

Your Mom | Sister |Wife | Girl Friend | Daughter | Niece et al.

___________

You may think this does not apply to you. You think you are an educated person that believes in gender equality. Gender bias is not in your DNA. Delve deep into your heart and deliberately contemplate your past hiring and promotion decisions. Was there ever a whiff of concern about hiring or promoting a woman?

Not all biases are explicit and not anyone who has such thoughts is an unabashed woman hater.  Research has shown time and again that factors such as race, gender, age, appearance, accent et al. influence our thought process and decision making.  Even the adjectives we use to describe women and men are different.

So, instead of pooh-poohing the suggestion and saying it does not apply to me, pause and reflect. You may come up with scenarios and situations where your hiring or promotion decision may have swung in favor of Joe instead of Jane.