The Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion Managing Unconscious Bias within the workplace Warwickshire County Council Tuesday 14 th April 2015 Peter Hall

Stonewall – No bystanders – video No Bystanders

What is unconscious bias? “Unconscious biases are our unintentional people preferences….

The nature of bias: The process of fast and slow thinking “The mental work that produces impressions, intuitions, and many decisions goes on in silence in our mind”. Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, fast and slow. (2011)

The idea of two systems Fast thinking – System 1 Automatic and quick Little or no effort Actions are involuntarily Effortless impressions Impulsive and intuitive Jumps to conclusions Cannot be turned off at will Slow Thinking – System 2 Effort & concentration Thought process disrupted Controls thoughts and monitors behaviour Is lazy. (Thoughts and actions are guided by System 1).

Consider this puzzle:

The correct answer is 5 pence! This is an example of how fast thinking results in cognitive errors or bias judgements. People find cognitive effort at least mildly unpleasant and thus tend to avoid it as much as possible. Overriding fast thinking is hard work. It demands effort!

Consider this puzzle: In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake? _____days

The essential nature of bias Human beings are ‘hard-wired’ to make intuitive decisions about other people. We do this through a process of rapid categorisation that is both natural and necessary. Acts as an unconscious ‘danger detector’, (Joseph LeDoux).

Why do we love tall men? The heads of big companies are virtually all tall (On average CEOs were just a shade under six feet)

Size.. ‘Overweight women are more likely to be discriminated against when applying for jobs and receive lower start salaries than their non overweight colleagues’. Aeron Haworth- Media Relation Faculty of Medical & Human Sciences. University of Manchester

Fast thinking Affects our attitudes, behaviours and decisions that impact other people. Leads to distinctive patterns of individual and organisational biases. Result from our implicit associations which are supported by the processes of social categorisation and group stereotyping.

Key points: System 2 – are often associated with choice, and concentration. However it is System 1, the home of our intuitive judgements (our implicit associations and biases) that really guides our attitudes, beliefs, behaviours. Having an understanding of the working of fast thinking, of rapid categorisation will help to us to fully appreciate the nature of bias, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.

(Abrams & Houston 2006) Jones, P 2005 Implicitly 3000 Implicitly ® work based data

The impact of Affinity Bias at work Individuals and groups gravitate to people like them… Commonality / Likeability Competence Trust Recruit in our own likeness Listen to people like us Value the opinions of people like us

Consider Impact Who are we including & excluding? Who are we encouraging and praising? Whose contributions are we likely to recognise? Whose mistakes are we likely to notice? Is there anyone whose contributions we may sometimes overlook?

Top Tips TipExample Accept we are all biased; learn to mistrust your first impressions Apply the two second rule. Be curious: actively seek out and value different perspectives Team meetings and general discussions Treat people as individuals:Don’t be anxious about having conversations about difference Widen your networksSponsor/Mentor someone who is less like you – Be open to people who are less like you Avoid reinforcing biases Avoid and challenge the ‘banter’, Change your newspaper Challenge negative assumptions

Top Tips TipExample Recruitment Remove names from CVs Fair and objective scoring system Don’t interview on a Friday afternoon Use exemplars and role modelsActively remember leaders from the group and their positive contribution Manage your stress levels Take regular breaks Avoid making people decisions when competing work priorities

We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.

One last puzzle.. If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

Peter Hall Member Enagagement Manager Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion Tel: Mobile: #enei/ PeterMHall uk.linkedin.com/pub/peter-hall/b/7a8/555 Contact me: