Your Seemingly Ordinary Review Can Have Extraordinary Consequences  

Performance evaluations are a common part of jobs. You sit down with your manager, review your goals, and talk about how the year went. 

Yet these reviews can do more than summarize your work. They can influence your raise, your bonus, your career opportunities, and your long‑term earning potential. A poor review can block promotions or transfers, or place you in a performance improvement program that is often a step towards termination of employment. 

With so much at stake, it is worth understanding what happens when bias influences the process, even in subtle ways. 

How Bias Shows Up—and Why It’s Hard to Spot 

Sometimes bias in evaluations is easy to spot. Gender stereotypes may manifest in comments that a woman who asserts herself is “abrasive” or “difficult.” She may be told that she should be more deferential or speak less, or that she is “too emotional.” Other feedback may suggest that she should smile more or be more friendly. People of color may also be characterized as not being a good “culture fit” or as “unlikeable.” 

These dynamics play out especially acutely for Black women, as we’ve covered. When those patterns go unchecked, the consequences can extend far beyond pay or promotion decisions. 

While bias sometimes shows up in discriminatory comments, more often it takes hold because of how the process is structured, the criteria managers rely on, and the lack of transparency around how ratings are decided. 

One of the most common ways bias creeps in is through unclear or subjective criteria. Evaluations work best when everyone knows early in the performance cycle exactly what metrics will be used to review your performance at year end. 

When expectations are not measurable or well defined, evaluations often hinge on personal impressions. Terms like “leadership,” “professionalism,” or “attitude” leave room for bias, even when everyone intends to be fair. 

Another frequent issue is uncertainty about who actually controls or influences your rating. Your direct supervisor may draft the evaluation, but higher‑level leaders, or even former managers, might get to weigh in. They may even be able to override your direct manager. Unsolicited negative reviews from those who don’t work as closely with you can bring down your overall scores and contribute to a false narrative about your work.  When decisions happen out of view, it is difficult to understand how judgments formed or whose perspective carried the most weight. 

Forced‑ranking systems can compound these issues. These systems require managers to place employees into preset tiers, often along a curve, which means a certain number of people will receive lower ratings regardless of actual performance. In the companies we’ve dealt with, we’ve routinely seen these structures disadvantage women and people of color. 

All of this typically unfolds in settings where employees rarely open up about their evaluations, because the process feels deeply personal. That silence makes it harder to see patterns or recognize when something seems off. 

What You Can Do If You Suspect Bias 

Even when you don’t have full visibility into the evaluation process, there are steps you can take. 

Start by keeping records. Save copies of evaluations, written feedback, goal‑setting documents, documentation of your positive performance, and pay decisions. If feedback feels vague or inconsistent, asking for specific examples can help clarify how your rating was determined. 

It can also be helpful to compare experiences with coworkers. Informal conversations, anonymous forums, or chat channels may reveal whether others are encountering similar issues. 

You may also ask neutral, clarifying questions, such as how performance affects pay, who reviews ratings, or what criteria the company uses to evaluate your role. These questions can reveal whether standards are being applied consistently. 

If You’re Seeing Signs of Bias 

A performance evaluation does more than reflect your work. It can influence your pay, your opportunities, and your long‑term career path. 

If you believe bias has affected your evaluation or your compensation, even if it was unintentional or unconscious, speaking with one of our attorneys can help you understand what steps may make sense for your situation. Our client intake team is available to speak to you Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 9pm, eastern time. Just call us at 866-772-4133. 

This was co-written by Jon Steingart, Senior Content Strategist at Outten & Golden LLP.