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Overcoming Bias in you workplace
Your opportunity to make a difference! Thank everyone for coming Safe environment Everyone has biases, no finger pointing, assumptions...focus on self and how to improve How many of you listened to the podcast from BBC? The Why Factor, Unconscious Bias
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Poll Have heard of unconscious bias but don’t know much about it
Pretty familiar with unconscious bias and how it works Personally experienced some sort of bias Witnessed or overheard someone else experience bias Personally intervened when witnessed bias Can identify which biases you have Say: Raise of hands… Don’t know much about - what do you want to know more about? Familiar - give me an example? Personally experienced - tell story? Witnessed or overheard - What did you hear/what did you do? Intervened - what did you do? Identify bias - what is it? Do you know how it was developed? What type of bias have your experienced, witnesses, or intervened with?
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Learning Objectives Explain unconscious bias & how it impacts you and others around you Identify different types of bias and learn how to overcome it Reduce workplace stereotypes and be an advocate for change Learn to advocate for yourself and others in ways that are non- threatening and easy Read: Explain unconscious bias Understand how it can negatively influence workplace decisions Identify individual bias and how to adjust it Reduce workplace stereotypes and be an advocate for change Ensure the best talent is; Being hired Being included and contributing ideas Being fairly recognized and rewarded opportunities
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Unconscious Bias @ Work - Making the Unconscious Conscious
Facilitator Notes: What resonated with you in this video? I really like this video because it demonstrates how important unconscious bias is in the workplace regarding recruiting and hiring the best talent (like Enrico who was autistic and struggled during the interviewing process). It also discusses how you as an individual can grow and develop by eliminating incorrect assumptions and sticking with data and facts. T.V Raman (blind man with different cultural background) used his own disability to ensure he thinks about every user and what their experience may be like based upon their ability, inability, special ability, or disability.
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Conscious vs Unconscious Bias
Bias is a subjective preference toward a particular viewpoint or belief that prevents a person from maintaining objectivity. Implicit or unconscious biases are attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. Facilitator Notes: Refers to attitudes and beliefs we have about a person or group on a conscious level. Explicit bias tends to show up most as a result of a perceived threat. However, some explicit and implicit biases can be positive but be careful that it is still a bias and could offend. Unconscious bias is when our mind makes snap decisions for us based on filtering all of the information that is coming at us all day long. (i.e. avoiding cars, ordering coffee, where to sit on the bus). Most of what we feel and decide is driven by unconscious processing. *What is an example of favorable vs unfavorable UB? Workplace Tolerance Bias Awareness (2008 EAPTools.com) Understanding Implicit Bias (Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity)
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Unconscious Bias Affects?
Our Perception – how we see people and perceive reality Our Attitude – how we react towards certain people Our Behaviors – how receptive/friendly we are towards certain people Our Attention/Listening Skills – who we pay attention to and actively listen to what certain people have to say Our Micro-affirmations – how much or how little we acknowledge and include people in certain situations This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
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How it is formed Unconscious bias is formed simply from being members of our society. It is influenced by; Our background Cultural environment Personal experiences Biased media Repeat exposure to stereotypical associations and prejudices that become engraved in our long-term memory We all have some form of unconscious bias Facilitator Notes: I talk about how this starts as we are toddlers and then our parents were programmed as toddlers, and grandparents were programmed as toddlers, etc. This information came from our parents, teachers, friends, media, books, and their parents, teachers, news/media before them and so on and so forth. Unconscious bias is influenced by our; background, environment and experiences. (i.e. where we lived, what our neighborhood was like, rich or poor, blended family, etc) Personal experiences: Media: politics, crime, justice, etc. Associations and affiliations: church, community service, military, sports, etc. Anybody want to add anything? Unconscious bias doesn’t make us bad it makes us human. It’s what we do to change our behavior that will help us expand our thinking and diversify our thoughts. Just because we all have unconscious bias doesn’t mean we can ignore it. It is imperative that we consider our biases for the good of our company, industry, and our society. Storey, S. (2016). Making millions from theory. Huffpost Business.
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The rock star was unhappy about the amount of alcohol at the party
The nun was unhappy about the amount of alcohol at the party The Rock Star & The Nun After weighing all the circumstances, the CEO decided to terminate a few employees After weighing all the circumstances, the DRUG DEALER decided to terminate a few employees The Drug Lord & the CEO Unconscious Bias
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The Problem
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FIX THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT THE PEOPLE
Minority Groups Aren’t Broken Majority Groups Aren’t The Enemy Culprit = Societal Biases We All Share We Can Take Action Together FIX THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT THE PEOPLE Facilitator Notes: Read slide and reinforce how the problem is our societal biases
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Importance of Diversity Balance
Better innovation Stronger problem solving Higher team productivity Increased sales revenue Bigger market share High profitability Greater return on equity Lower attrition rates Facilitator Notes: What we aim for is a diversity balance at SendGrid. If we are going to live into our potential being a diverse workforce, this is imperative. We need to create an environment where diverse teams feel comfortable presenting ideas, raising their voice whether it be in agreement or a differing opinion, and are welcomed and appreciated for their experiences. Do: Ask a few people to give examples of when they have seen positive impacts of diversity balance. Let’s move on and look at the different types of unconscious bias in the workplace.
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Types of Unconscious Bias
Page 7 of workbook has descriptions and a place to take notes.
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How it shows up in the workplace
Unconscious Bias shows up in the following areas; Recruiting & Selecting Employee Development Performance Management Teams Facilitator Notes: Unconscious bias in the workplace shows up while most in 4 distinct areas: recruiting and selecting, developing employees, during performance management and in teams. This affects the way managers grow and lead teams, the way employees work with each other and the way the business innovates and thrives. We will discuss what this looks like in the workplace more as we review each bias that is being covered today.
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Types of Bias Micro-inequities - Subtle, unintentional and unconscious gestures, different language, tone of voice or treatment of specific groups of individuals based on our unconscious bias or assumptions Stereotype - Categories used to generalize and judge individuals or groups based on race, gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities and age. Implies that all people in the group are the same without knowing them.
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Making it past first round of auditions increased 50%
Facilitator Note: U.S. orchestra revealed women’s odds of making it past the first round of auditions increased 50% with blind auditions
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https:://managingbias.fb.com/
Resumes with white-sounding names received 50% more calls for interviews than identical resumes with black-sounding names. Facilitator Note: Race bias: » Resumes with stereotypically white names, such as Emily and Greg, receive 50% more call backs than equivalent resumes with stereotypically black names, such as Lakisha or Jamal. h t t p s : / / m a n a g i n g b i a s . f b . c o m / h t t p s : / / m a n a g i n g b i a s . f b . c o m / h t t p s : / / . f b . c o m /
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Workplace Stereotypes
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Types of Bias Conformity- Caused by group peer pressure that resembles groupthink or “following the herd” People think and behave like those around them rather than using their own personal judgment Self/Social Comparison- Comparing others to ourselves or vice versa Promotes judgmental, biased, and superior attitudes towards others Self/Social Comparison Caught up in the “how” someone is working versus the outcome “She’s not organized” vs. “Her process/structure is different” Perceiving others do not work as hard as you and therefore, aren’t as hungry “He is always leaving right at 5pm so he must need more work” Thought highly of a candidate until reviewing feedback from interview committee and you change your mind Employee is labeled and treated a certain way by the rest of the team; negatively impacts manager with employee development decisions Manager allows opinions of others to affect the employee/manager relationship Strained work relationships Lack of empathy and understanding towards people
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More Bias Affinity- Drawn to someone because you share similarities, have a connection, or think they are “like me” Confirmation- Look for ways to support our beliefs or perceptions Make an assumption about someone and subconsciously look for evidence to back it up Tend to be storylines we create about someone or something and look for ways to validate our story Overlook and ignore information that doesn’t support their assumptions Hard on candidates with different backgrounds; easier questions if they are more like you Overlooking candidates for ones that are like you Assign special projects to specific individuals - usually the same people get the choice projects Rating someone low because of one thing you don’t like or because they aren’t like you Micro-cliques form around “like” groups In other words, we seek out and find what we are looking for to support our beliefs or perception. This is used every time we have a bias (conscious or unconscious) because we are seeking to confirm it’s okay that we feel the way we do.
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Active Bystander Intervention
Active bystanders are people who; Will point out bias and non inclusive behavior Are effected by what is said or done either to them or someone else Is a supervisor and should be making every attempt to break bias in the workplace We can’t assume it is solely the responsibility of managers
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Bystander Involvement
Be visible Join a group or non-profit supporting underrepresented groups Wear stickers or t-shirts supporting certain groups Continue to support company initiatives for Diversity & Inclusion Bring it up Share articles, television/movie snippets or stories with your team to start a conversation Point it out Speak up on behalf of someone or point out privately Discuss with manager or HRBP to address perceived behavior
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Group Discussion Is it Bias? Should you address?
How can you intervene? What gets in your way?
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Interrupting Bias
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In Summary We all have some form of unconscious bias; learn to make it conscious Diversity balance creates innovation, solutions to problems, increased productivity, and lower attrition rates Unconscious bias can impact recruiting & selection, employee development, performance management, teams, and employee engagement
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Next Steps Make the unconscious conscious and identify your own biases
14 IAT assessments Be a part of the conversation and engage in building an inclusive culture where you work Be an advocate Talk to your team about this training and potential biases amongst the team Commit to addressing any bias that needs immediate attention Provide one “ah-ha” moment from the training Tell me what you are going to do differently
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Resources BBC World Service: The Why Factor, Unconscious Bias Participants take a minimum of two quizzes prior to class. ml National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) g-box-series-full-series
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From the Mouth of a Child…..
Majority of our biases are formed when we are very young. Watch this short video of a girl who is tired of what commercials and department store merchandising is insinuating.
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Thank You!
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