We are all impelled to prefer people who look like us, act like us and share our interests thanks to neurological process called unconscious bias. Meanwhile, the world is becoming smaller, increasingly diverse and is also half female. This juxtaposition is one of the big problems of modern commerce. Unconscious bias causes us to make subconscious judgments and assessments of people and situations influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences. Unfortunately, it also hinders development and an organisations competitive edge.
Organisations which recognise this and embrace diversity thrive while those which remain stuck in limiting patterns of behaviour miss out on new ideas and opportunities. The first step to true diversity is understanding how unconscious bias works and developing strategies to recognise and overcome it.