Diversity and inclusion workshop
UNCONSCIOUS
BIAS
IN THE
WORKPLACE
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
VIDEO: DON’T PUT PEOPLE IN BOXES
Introduction Showing How We Unconsciously Put People in Categories 4.4 minutes
When we label people and put them in different boxes, we don't see PEOPLE for who they truly are. This video proves that we have a
lot more in common than we think, and we should keep that in mind when we encounter anyone who might seem different than we are.
(Don't Put People in Boxes, You Tube, 2017)
https://youtu.be/zRwt25M5nGw
Meeting Started with an Ice Breaker- 10 minutes
The workshop will start with an ice breaker were everyone will introduce themselves and share a foreign country they
have visited or would like to visit. (Nittle, 2019)
ICEBREAKER
WHAT IS AN
UNCONSCIOUS BIAS?
Unconscious (or implicit)
biases are learned
stereotypes that are
automatic, unintentional,
deeply ingrained, universal,
and able to influence
behavior. (Unconscious Bias, Wikipedia. 2020)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
FOUR REAL LIFE EXAMPLES OF WORKPLACE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS
1. This candidate sounds great!
Resumes are a consistent source of unconscious
bias. A person’s name along with associated biases
may impact some decisions of a resume instead of
their qualifications listed. (ELI, 2016)
2. She’s not great with computers.
Do not evaluate competency based on age. Quality could be sacrificed, or an innovative idea may be missed based on experience. (ELI, 2016)
3. You remind me of someone I know.
This is an unconscious bias that can be influenced
by opinions you have about someone else that
the individual reminds you of. (ELI, 2016)
4. He speaks the language.
Do not make assumptions based on an individual’s ethical background. Example an African American manager was hired for the Urban project because “He speaks the language”. (ELI, 2016)
VIDEO YOU’RE NOT BIASED RIGHT? IMPLICIT BIAS IAT TESTING EXPLAINED
Implicit Bias Testing Explained 6.19 minutes
The IAT measures the strength of associations between concepts (ex. Female/Male and Science/Liberal Arts). The main idea is that
making a response is easier when closely related items share the same response key. We would say that one has an implicit
association between Male and ‘Science’ relative to Female and ‘Science’ if they are faster to categorize words when Male and
‘Science’ share a response key relative to when Female and ‘Science’ share a response key. (Project Implicit, 2011)
Refer to the graph on Unconscious Biases and discuss the test on the Project Implicit website - 30 minutes
Show the statistics percentage of web respondents with each score. Discuss the test experience. Employees can reflect their reaction to
the tests, and feelings about the results and or personal experiences that may have influenced their results.
IAT Test – 15 minutes
Have the employees locate the Project Implicit site and login under the Social Attitudes IAT test category selecting the
Male with Science and Female with Liberal Arts test. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
IAT TEST GENDER/SCIENCE TEST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72MHd0y-bs
IAT TEST- GENDER-SCIENCE
23%
29%
18%
19%
6%
4%
1%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Strong automatic association of Male with Science and Female with Liberal Arts
Moderate automatic association of Male with Science and Female with Liberal Arts
Slight automatic association of Male with Science and Female with Liberal Arts
Little to no automatic preference between gender and academic domains
Slight automatic association of Male Liberal Arts and Female with Science
Moderate automatic association of Male with Liberal Arts and Female with Science
Strong automatic association of Male with Liberal Arts and Female with Science
Percent of web respondents with each score
This distribution summarizes 628,295 IAT scores for the Gender-Science task completed between January 2003 to December 2015 (Project Implicit, 2011)
WHAT IS A
CULTURAL BIAS
Cultural bias is the phenomenon of
interpreting and judging phenomena by
standards inherent to one's own culture.
(Cultural Bias, Wikipedia. 2020)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
FOUR EXAMPLES OF WORKPLACE CULTURAL BIAS
Women verse Men in leadership roles. The traditional
roles of men being better leaders because they have
more authority , focus and drive is outdated.
Woman have more teacher like qualities and tend to be
motivational than threatening. (Chin &Trimble, 2015)
2. Minority Leaders Diversity should be viewed as an advantage. How they
manage bias related to their social group membership is
called “identity management”. Which is a framework of
policies and technologies for ensuring that the proper
people in an enterprise have the appropriate access to
technology resources. (Identity Management, Wikipedia.
2020)
3. Religious Beliefs
“I’m a very spiritual person and sometimes I think that creates problems for my colleagues who tend to be scientifically mattered”. (Chin & Trimble, 2015) An organization must adopt a rule of tolerance to diversity.
4. Creating an Inclusive Environment
Diversity an advantage to an organization. When Inclusion is strong, employees feel valued. They serve customers better and we are better off as an organization. (Groysberg, & Connolly, 2013)
1. Gender Perceptions
View Video Blind Spots: Overcoming Stereotypes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_yIevcJCPc
WHAT IS A
SYSTEMIC BIAS?
also called institutional bias, is the
inherent tendency of a process to
support particular outcomes. The term
generally refers to human systems such
as institutions; the equivalent bias in
non-human systems. (Systemic Bias,
Wikipedia. 2020)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
FOUR EXAMPLES OF WORKPLACE SYSTEMIC BIAS
What is being done in the organization to
address inequitable treatment. How is the
situation dealt with? (Gassman, 2019)
2. Similar-to-me bias
This is the phenomenon of individuals favoring
others who are like them. This can present a
problem in the workplace of not properly
addressed. Such as favoring hiring only males.
Which would widen the gap of inequality.
(Gassman, 2019)
3. The Network Gap
Individuals have an advantage in the network based on know they know to get their foot in the door. This can further inequality. Companies should go back to the more traditional hiring methods, such as candidates who apply online. (Gassman, 2019)
4. Environment Structural Racism
It is defined as “the complex system by which racism is
developed, maintained and protected.” White privilege is one such example, it can cause problems if it is not addressed in the workplace. Education is one of the greatest tools to deconstruct this form of racism. (Gassman, 2019)
1. Exclusive and hostile work environments
View Video Blind Spots: Broadening Perspectives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbBTM8bJt8Q
REFERENCES
Cultural Bias, Wikipedia, 2020, en.wikipedia.org.
Don't Put People in Boxes. New Hope Church, You Tube, 2017, http//www.youtube.com
DuBrin, A. J. (2013). Leadership: research findings, practice, and skills (7th ed.). Australia:
Five real-world examples of unconscious bias, ELI, 31 Mar. 2016, www.eliinc.com.Cengage.
Gassam, Janice. Your Unconscious Bias Trainings Keep Failing Because You’re Not Addressing Systemic Bias, Forbes, 29 Dec.
2019.
Groysberg, Boris, and Connolly, Katherine. "Harvard Business Review." Great Leaders Who Make the Mix Work, Sept.
2013, hbr.org.
Identity Management, Wikipedia. 2020, en.wikipedia.org.
Nittle Kareem, Nadra. 5 Ways to Make Your Diversity Workshop a Success, 2 Mar. 2019, thoughtco.com.
Project Implicit, Skinclusion, 2011, http://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Ryan, Ann Marie. Navigating stereotype threat and identity management in the workplace, Rework, 4 Feb. 2006,
rework.withgoogle.com.
Reiner Baily, 12 Unconscious Bias Examples and How to Avoid Them in the Workplace, Builtin, 12 Aug. 2019, builtin.com.
This test reveals implicit biases you don't know you have, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com.
Systemic Bias, Wikipedia. 2020, en.wikipedia.org.
Unconscious Bias training, Wikipedia. 2020, en.wikipedia.org.