#9 Using Artificial Intelligence to Measure Unconscious Bias

Fish in the Boardroom

with Annabella Bassler

Internationally, males represent 82% of media coverage, whilst in Switzerland, this number is only slightly better with 75%. To address this discrepancy, Annabella Bassler, the CFO of Ringier AG, introduced Equal Voice in 2019. This initiative aims to increase female media coverage by using artificial intelligence. The tool analyzes the content of media and provides an objective factor, which indicates the coverage of women compared to that of men.

How do journalists and company leaders react, when they learn about this unequal reality? And how do Swiss Media like Beobachter, Schweizer Illustrierte, and Blick approach these initiatives?

In this episode, Annabella shares the particular steps they took towards increasing female coverage in Swiss media and the results they achieved.

“And we have great journalists. And we have great editors in chief. And they are aware of the framing. It’s like when they have their meetings and go through the articles and the pictures, it definitely helps that we have EqualVoice because it just pushed their awareness tremendously. Everybody can just say now in a meeting “Is Equal Voice in there?” And they don't have to make up a story about why they think it's about discrimination or why they think the woman was not placed or framed correctly. They can just say, it's not EqualVoice how can we make it EqualVoice.”

What you will learn

· How to beware of your USPs, for example, for Ringier it’s journalist’s independence.

· How to engage all actors and raise awareness.

· How to take the emotions out and make Equal Voice a diversity bon-mot. This will reduce the friction of people voicing this issue and encourage more professionals to speak up.

Tips

· Keep it as simple as possible.

· Walk the talk. Firstly, ensure equal pay. Secondly, define your Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Then hire, retain promote.

· Don’t delegate the implementation of the D&I strategy to HR. To gain the right momentum, this strategy has to be led by the board.

· Include employees in you the discussion of D&I progress. They can bring new valuable ideas and you will increase their awareness of the issue.

Additional Resources

Additional Resources on EqualVoice (German)

EqualVoice - Die Idee: https://youtu.be/In4jtOlOMtU

EqualVoice - Rückblick 2020: https://youtu.be/7mhiUJVBROs

Find guest online

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabella-dr-bassler-6473b023/

Homepage Ringier: https://www.ringier.ch/en

Biography

Annabella Bassler (*1977) has been CFO of Ringier AG since June 2012. She began her career at Ringier in 2007, working in a number of financial roles. In addition, she has also been responsible for Ringier’s activities in Romania since mid-2014. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Ticketcorner AG, Ringier Digital Ventures AG, Ringier Axel Springer Media AG and is also on the board of the child welfare organization Plan International Switzerland. She studied economics at the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, Buenos Aires and Los Angeles, subsequently completing a doctorate. After gaining practical experience in consulting, Annabella Bassler worked from 2004 to 2007 in various financial roles for Hamburg Süd, formerly the Oetker Group’s shipping company, in Hamburg.