(Press-News.org) Working for a big company or in an HR role does not lower the likelihood of showing unconscious bias against disabled people at work, a new study finds.
Researchers say this is ‘surprising’ because of the money many large firms spend on EDI and unconscious bias training – in 2017 up to $8bn in the US alone – and the fact HR professionals are often specifically trained in EDI issues.
The research, a collaboration between the University of Exeter’s Business School and Medical School and funded through The Inclusivity Project, is also the first to link health status and unconscious bias, with lower levels of unconscious bias against disabled people found among those with a lower health status.
The study also found women to be less biased against disabled people than men.
Around half of the study’s 108 participants, recruited from businesses across the South West, either worked in HR or were involved in making recruitment decisions in their roles, while 50% reported working for a small to medium-sized enterprise.
They were required to perform a number of tasks, including answering questions on their own disability status and past experiences of interacting with people with a disability.
They also completed the Health Related Quality of Life survey – which focuses on an individual's quality of mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression – as well as taking the Implicit Association Test (IAT).
The IAT uncovers unconscious attitudes by measuring how quickly people link stimuli such as pictures of disabled and non-disabled people to positive or negative words.
Just under three-quarters of the participants showed some level of implicit bias against disabled people in favour of non-disabled people, a figure in line with existing research studies.
But the researchers found that levels of unconscious bias against disabled people were roughly the same whether participants worked for a large company or an SME.
Working in HR or in a role where you make recruitment and retention decisions was also found not to have a significant effect on implicit bias.
The finding that participants’ own disability or health status was associated with lower implicit bias is consistent with previous studies on race or gender that show people are less biased towards groups they belong to or identify with, the researchers say.
Reducing implicit bias against disabled people requires greater disability representation in the workplace, the researchers recommend.
Dr Daniel Derbyshire, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and lead author of the study, said: “It is clear that there is a need for greater disability representation – especially within HR and at senior levels where people make hiring decisions – and that bridging this gap in representation may improve both attitudes towards disabled people and the disability employment gap.
“Addressing negative attitudes towards disabled people in the workplace should be a high priority for policy makers interested in the disability employment gap.”
Large companies may now need to rethink their EDI strategies to address the findings, the researchers suggest.
“It is surprising that neither working for a large company nor being involved in HR have a significant effect on implicit attitudes towards disabled people, which require deeper and more structural reimagining of paradigms and modes of thinking with respect to disability to meaningfully change,” said Dr Derbyshire.
“This may suggest that the current efforts of large companies compared to SMEs are not effective at reducing implicit bias and that current strategies require rethinking.”
‘The Importance of Disability Representation to Address Implicit Bias in the Workplace’ is co-authored by Dr Daniel Derbyshire, Theo Blackmore, Professor Brit Grosskopf and Professor Anne Spencer and published in the journal Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences.
END
Big firms are failing to reduce unconscious bias against disabled people
Working for a big company or in an HR role does not lower the likelihood of showing unconscious bias against disabled people at work, a new study finds
2023-03-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Does birth by cesarean section affect children’s academic performance and intelligence?
2023-03-22
In a study of Danish children born between 1978–2000, chances of graduating from lower and upper secondary education were significantly lower for children born by cesarean section (CS). However, differences in grade point averages and intelligence scores were very small. The study, which is published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, also found that males born by CS had a lower likelihood of appearing before a conscription board for drafting into the military.
In Denmark, most students are 6–16 years old while in lower secondary education (LSE) and 16–17 years old when initiating ...
Can moderate dietary salt restriction help patients with hypertension?
2023-03-22
Results from a clinical trial published in the Journal of Internal Medicine reveal several health benefits of moderate salt restriction in patients on standard medical treatment for primary aldosteronism.
Primary aldosteronism—a condition in which the adrenal glands make too much of the hormone aldosterone—is a common cause of secondary hypertension. The combination of aldosterone excess and high dietary salt intake leaves affected patients with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than patients with hypertension ...
How fisheries threaten seals and sea lions in South America
2023-03-22
Seals, sea lions, and fur seals are at risk from interactions with fisheries and aquaculture, as they can become entangled in nets or cages, and drown. In a study published in Mammal Review, investigators analyzed research from the last 25 years on operational and biological interactions between these marine mammals and fisheries and aquaculture activities in South American waters.
The authors found that two species are primarily involved in interactions in many countries: the South American sea lion Otaria flavescens and the South American fur seal Arctocephalus australis. ...
Does care during pregnancy differ based on patient race in the United States?
2023-03-22
In an analysis of perinatal care provided in the United States, investigators found few differences by race for care that was based on guidelines or expert recommendations; however, discretionary care (for which professional recommendations or guidelines do not exist) varied by race.
The analysis, which is published in Birth, included information from the electronic health records for 7,056 women who delivered infants within a large hospital system between 2012 and 2018. Compared with Non-Hispanic white women, Non-Hispanic Black women were ...
Are there sex-based differences in brain development during early childhood?
2023-03-22
New research published in Human Brain Mapping reveals sex differences and developmental changes in the brain’s white matter—which provides communication between different parts of the brain—in healthy, typically developing infants and 5-year-olds.
The results, which highlighted sexual dimorphism in brain structure during development with significant detectable differences in multiple regions at the age of 5 years, agree with prior studies showing earlier brain development in females.
Also, changes in white matter asymmetry patterns occurred during early childhood, and in 5-year-olds the pattern already resembled adult-like patterns.
“We observed sex differences ...
Boosting the effects of a particular microRNA may benefit patients with cervical cancer
2023-03-22
Dysregulation of microRNAs, which are molecules involved in controlling gene expression, can promote tumor formation and progression. A study in The FASEB Journal found that the miR-145 microRNA can suppress the growth of cervical cancer cells.
miR-145 was expressed at lower than normal levels in human cervical cancer cells, and lower levels correlated with more advanced clinical stages of cervical cancer in patients.
Experiments in cells and mice revealed the mechanisms behind miR-145 effects and pointed to potential targets that could be ...
Changing temperatures increase pesticide risk to bees
2023-03-22
Temperature influences how badly pesticides affect bees’ behaviour, suggesting uncertain impacts under climate change, according to a new study.
The findings indicate that future extreme temperature events under climate change could increase the impact of pesticides on bee populations and their pollination services.
Certain pesticides, particularly a class called neonicotinoids, are known to impact bees and other important insects, and are thought to be contributing to population declines. However, bees’ reported responses to this threat across the world often seem to vary, suggesting other interacting factors ...
Research reveals substantial human cost of international COVID-19 travel and border restrictions
2023-03-22
Findings paint a bleak picture of little or no financial and health support from governments for their citizens stuck overseas.
At least two-thirds of those stranded aboard experienced financial distress and moderate-to-severe levels of depression—a rate that is substantially higher than the general population and health care professionals in the pandemic.
**Note: the release below is a special early release from the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, 15-18 April). Please credit the congress if you use this story**
**Note – the press release is available in Spanish and ...
TMAC helping businesses prevent pollution
2023-03-22
The University of Texas at Arlington-based Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) has received a grant worth nearly $500,000 to assist manufacturers in developing and adopting pollution prevention practices that reduce costs and environmental impacts.
The $498,836 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pollution Prevention Program allows both the TMAC Sustainability team and Process Automation Design Engineering (PADE) team to work with manufacturers to prevent pollution in areas considered environmental justice regions. An environmental ...
Early career honor for Wang
2023-03-22
A University of Texas at Arlington researcher is working to optimize supply chain management to allow for flexibility from forces outside the supply chain, such as policy changes that can cause major disruptions.
Linda Wang, assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at UTA, has earned a five-year, $503,000 Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her research. CAREER awards are the NSF’s most prestigious honor for early-career ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Cancer survivors who quit smoking have 36% lower cardiovascular risk than continuers
More depressed patients than previously estimated could have increased activation of their immune system
Shedding light on the complex flow dynamics within the small intestine
UK cardiology societies issue joint policy statement to stamp out bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the specialty
Predominance of young Asian men among large UK case series of laughing gas users
Ketamine nasal spray may prove safe and effective treatment for refractory migraine
The clams that fell behind, and what they can tell us about evolution and extinction
Medical school does not equip new doctors for the real working world, junior doctor warns
Unique “bawdy bard” act discovered, revealing 15th-century roots of British comedy
Saved from extinction, Southern California’s Channel Island Foxes now face new threat to survival
Genetic change increased bird flu severity during U.S. spread
New Jersey Health Foundation awards grants to Kessler Foundation to advance research in brain and spinal cord stimulation methods
Extracting a clean fuel from water
NJIT researchers awarded $4.6m to unlock mysteries of solar eruptions
Extended lymph node removal does not benefit patients with clinically localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer
Study finds sex education tool improves reproductive health knowledge among adolescent girls
No-till revolution could stop Midwest topsoil loss in its tracks
Computational method uncovers the effects of mutations in the noncoding genome
Extreme precipitation in northeast to increase 52% by the end of the century
Lung infection may be less transmissible than thought
Experimental decoy protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection
Light conveyed by the signal transmitting molecule sucrose controls growth of plant roots
Mitigating climate change through restoration of coastal ecosystems
Flexible nanoelectrodes can provide fine-grained brain stimulation
Teens with irregular sleep patterns have higher risk of school problems
Genetic risk information may help people avoid alcohol addiction
Advances in technology are driving popularity of EVs
Newborns with higher hair cortisol levels take longer to fall asleep
That’s not nuts: Almond milk yogurt packs an overall greater nutritional punch than dairy-based
Using AI to create better, more potent medicines
[Press-News.org] Big firms are failing to reduce unconscious bias against disabled peopleWorking for a big company or in an HR role does not lower the likelihood of showing unconscious bias against disabled people at work, a new study finds