The Impact of Unconscious Bias Marguerite A. Fletcher Fletcher Consulting, LLC February 2, 2018

Objectives Increase our understanding of the impact of unconscious bias at work Develop strategies for mitigating bias at work

Discussion Guidelines Listen to each other Be open to a range of perspectives OK to disagree, without being disagreeable Keep a self-focus -- “I statements” Maintain confidentiality

The Basics

© 2017 Fletcher Consulting, LLC Unconscious Bias The process by which the brain uses mental associations that are so well-established as to operate without awareness, intention, or even control. Our brains have blind spots and glitches

What do you see? You’re about to see an image of an animal pop onto the screen for just a second or two. Your task is to identify what the animal is. Let’s take a look at another example. You’re about to see an image of an animal pop onto the screen for just a second or two. Your task is to identify what the animal is. Ready? And- go!

What do you see? Show briefly, (3 seconds), then show again after participants have named what they saw

Can you see both of them? Horse Frog Did you find them both? Here they are: the horse [image] and the frog [image]. Was it harder to find the second animal? It is for most people. Because once our brains have decided “this is a horse” (or a frog) it’s hard for our brains to switch gears and see something different. Illustrates importance of taking in information with an open mind, and difficulty our brains have in reconsidering beliefs, impressions, data, etc. Horse Frog

Microinequities Microinequities are a manifestation of unconscious bias Small slights, often unintentional Become significant as they accumulate May appear to be compliments but leave recipient with a bad feeling Both intent and impact are important

Examples “Amazing you can work full-time and be a good mother.” “I didn’t know gay guys knew anything about sports.” “Your English is so good!” (to U.S. born Asian man) “You kids don’t know what hard work is.” Checking emails or texting during a conversation. Making eye-contact only with men in a mixed group. “You look good for your age.”

We All Have Unconscious Biases They come from our experiences Our brains make assumptions that we trust They are stereotypes about certain groups that we hold outside own conscious awareness They often conflict with our explicit beliefs and may show up in subtle ways in professional settings No shame in having them; what matters is what we do about them

An Experiential Exercise

The Four Friends 1. Recovering alcoholic father, living in his car with two children 2. Gay, unemployed, ex-senior manager of a Fortune 500 company 3. Middle Eastern merchant with limited English and uncertain citizenship status 4. Black, overweight, female administrative assistant with her GED

The Four Friends - Questions What came up for you during the exercise? What did you notice about the “facts” filled into the profiles? What implications are there for your work with colleagues and students?

Strategies What Can You Do?

Strategies Brainstorm strategies for your assigned topic, for 10 minutes, with your table group. Increasing personal awareness Creating a more inclusive environment at work Present the top three strategies to the whole group.

Increase Self Awareness Explore what is unfamiliar though conversations, books, articles, videos & research. Take several of the Implicit Association Tests https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html. Discuss your results with colleagues. Evaluate and challenge your assumptions about people from backgrounds different than your own.

Become More Inclusive Network with professional associations affiliated with different race/ethnic groups. Broaden the group with whom you socialize at work. Review every aspect of the employment cycle to look for unconscious bias. Bias-proof your systems. Work on inclusive behaviors including: Greeting people Encouraging everyone to participate in meetings Listening effectively  

Practice and Keep Talking © 2017 Fletcher Consulting, LLC Practice and Keep Talking Unconscious incompetence Conscious incompetence Conscious competence Unconscious competence

Share one thing you are taking away from today’s session Closing Share one thing you are taking away from today’s session

Fletcher Consulting, LLC Contact: Marguerite A. Fletcher 617-916-2600 marguerite@consultfletcher.com www.consultfletcher.com