The Internet-based test, conducted by Diverseo, a Paris-based company, involved flashing pictures of unknown men in ties and well-known women in powerful positions, such as Julia Gillard, Australia's prime minister. "We found that people more readily identified the unknown men with leadership than they did these famous women who had proved their leadership abilities," says Nathalie Malige, founder of Diverseo. "They did this automatically, unconsciously."
That unconscious reflex - or "cognitive bias," in the jargon - is what prevents companies appointing more women and people of different nationalities and backgrounds as senior managers, says Ms. Malige. Potentially, it also has a significant impact on business, as restrictive preconceptions are unlikely to apply solely to gender and race, and could encompass attitudes to employment issues such as part-time working and disability.
Read more in the Financial Times.
