The Avoidance of Bias Against Caregiving

Abstract

The authors analyze bias avoidance behaviors, whereby employees respond to biases against caregiving in the workplace by strategically minimizing or hiding family commitments. They divide bias avoidance behaviors into productive types that improve work performance and unproductive types that are inefficient. Original survey data from 4,188 chemistry and English faculty in 507 U.S. colleges and universities suggest both types of bias avoidance are relatively common and women more often report both types of behavior. Regression analyses show few disciplinary differences, find supportive supervisors associated with reductions in reports of bias avoidance, suggest low levels of bias avoidance for women are linked to institutional gender equity, and support the possibility that there are subjective components to bias avoidance behaviors.