How to Overcome Stereotypes in Your Organization

As diversity and inclusion initiatives rise in the workplace, there have been concerns about the harm stereotypes impose on employee morale. Negative forces—such as racism, sexism, and ageism—have led to class action lawsuits and bad press for organizations.

According to a recent Good Jobs First report, 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies have paid settlements in at least one discrimination or sexual harassment lawsuit since 2000. This can be attributed to complacency in archaic power dynamics, but the recent response in movements—such as Black Lives Matter and Me Too—have prompted businesses to join the conversation about addressing negative stigmas.

Here’s an overview of workplace stereotypes, their effects on businesses, and how to overcome them as an organizational leader.

What Are Workplace Stereotypes?

Stereotyping is a prevalent way of thinking that exists in nearly every aspect of daily life. Stereotypes are overgeneralized perceptions and beliefs about how an individual in a certain group should or shouldn’t act. In the workplace, stereotyping can lead to:

• Prejudice: Negative feelings about an individual
• Discrimination: Behaviors toward an individual

Not all stereotypes are negative, but they impact workplace dynamics. The groups most affected by stereotypes are typically from marginalized communities and discriminated against because of characteristics including:

• Race
• Gender
• Age
• Sexual orientation
• Religious affiliation

While some don’t see the damage of these harmful perceptions, Harvard Business School Professor Julie Battilana, who teaches the online course Power and Influence for Positive Impact, argues that “business as usual” is “politics as usual.” Organizational leaders must address these workplace challenges to lead effectively.

The Effect of Workplace Stereotypes

Stereotypes—while based on myths and misconceptions—don’t easily disappear from the collective consciousness. There are many reasons for this, but the online course Power and Influence for Positive Impact asserts that stereotypes are prominent in business because of their role in maintaining power imbalances. Business leaders and managers often fall back on these beliefs because they’ve enabled them to retain power and influence within their organizations.

One example is the generational gap in today's workplace. With nearly five generations comprising it, many age-related stereotypes help maintain the status quo. This phenomenon is called ageism, or discrimination based on a person's age.

In business, younger generations often criticize older, more established employees as being out of touch or technologically challenged. Conversely, younger generations are frequently criticized for being self-indulgent and ungrateful. When these dynamics influence promotions and management decisions, stereotyping causes a multitude of problems.

Employees who face constant criticism or don’t get well-deserved promotions because of stereotyping can lose motivation and interest in performing their jobs. This leads to decreased morale, productivity, and employee retention.

How to Overcome Stereotypes in the Workplace

Since stereotypes are often ingrained in workplace dynamics, it’s up to company leadership to devise how to overcome them. In Power and Influence for Positive Impact, Battilana describes three methods to combat this toxic trend: individual actions, cultural intervention, and institutional intervention.

Individual Actions

In Power and Influence for Positive Impact, HBS Associate Professor Lakshmi Ramarajan notes two methods for overcoming stereotypes at the individual level: embracing a learning mindset and affirming one’s own values.

Embracing a learning mindset is a common tactic used by human resources departments. Diversity and inclusion seminars are excellent settings to learn more about the damage stereotyping can impose on different groups and what you can do to break the cycle. Unfortunately, stereotyping is a conditioned habit people are often unaware of; however, with collaboration and a willingness to learn, you can chip away at its power.

Once you understand the dynamics at play in stereotyping, Battilana suggests leveraging the following strategies to dismantle stereotypes and prejudices:

• Embrace diversity: Don’t put yourself in a bubble. Learn about individuals you admire from other genders or races. Read books authored by people who don’t share the same beliefs. Listen to music from various cultures. This can gradually recondition your perceptions.
• Interact with individuals from other groups: Hiring a diverse workforce doesn’t guarantee that employees will converse. Take the time to talk to people from different backgrounds.
• Confront stereotyping: If you see something, say something. Sometimes, the most impactful thing you can do is call out prejudice or stereotyping when it’s happening.

Cultural Intervention

Your organization’s culture is essential to its identity. Many business leaders pride themselves on encouraging growth mindsets, collaboration, and inclusion. But they also have a pivotal role to play in combating stereotyping.

Just as policies and regulations influence behavior, accepted cultural norms affect how employees treat one another. While these rules are unwritten, they can indicate what’s appropriate and inappropriate in the workplace.

For example, some organizations may not have explicit policies on how employees from different backgrounds should interact. Nonetheless, leadership should actively avoid permitting racism within their company cultures. Doing so gives employees a sense of what behavior they’ll be socially praised or scorned for.

“Racism and prejudice have less to do with our conscious intentions and more to do with how much our actions or inactions enable the structural dynamics that are already in place,” Battilana says in Power and Influence for Positive Impact.

Institutional Intervention

While cultural intervention exists outside of company policy, institutional intervention includes the procedural changes that occur at an organization’s highest levels—which directly influence how individuals act toward one another.

Institutional interventions take different forms and address various challenges that workplace stereotypes impose on organizational dynamics. Business leaders hoping to make institutional interventions should consider:

• Evaluating internal processes: They should consider altering internal processes that are more susceptible to prejudices stemming from stereotypes, such as recruiting, the job application process, and promotion decisions.
• Considering what “business as usual” looks like: Before leaders can change workplace dynamics, they must understand the status quo. This helps identify obstacles to positive organizational change, including prejudices that prevent team collaboration.
• Hiring for diversity: There’s been a major shift toward greater diversity in hiring. Leaders must continue to take this initiative seriously to foster inclusive working environments.

According to Battilana, these adjustments can lead to positive organizational change because “the criteria can be adjusted in a way that promotes greater equity in how people are evaluated.”

Don’t Let Stereotypes Hurt Your Business

Overcoming workplace stereotypes requires collective effort. Business leaders must understand their responsibility to leverage power and influence within their organizations to create institutional strategies that dismantle polarizing power imbalances.

With the right tools, any business can overcome the devastating effects of stereotyping and ensure more people of color, younger generations, and marginalized groups have a voice in making positive, long-term change.

Want to learn more about how leadership can overcome the effects of stereotyping in the workplace? Explore Power and Influence for Positive Impact—one of our online business in society courses—and download our free guide on becoming a purpose-driven professional.