1. The impact of unconscious bias on LGB inclusion
Dan Robertson
Diversity & Inclusion Director
Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion

2. What is unconscious bias?
“Unconscious biases are our unintentional people preferences, formed by our socialisation and experiences, including exposure to the media.
Unconscious biases are the result of our limited cognitive capacity; we implicitly and automatically both group and categorise people to avoid having to conduct completely new assessments for every new person.
We unconsciously assign positive and negative value to the categories we use.”

3. Bias facts We ALL have them
They are triggered and enacted between 30 and 100 milliseconds
They are often in our personal ‘bias blind spot’
What we see together, we wire together
The brain is a formidable pattern matching machine
They are automatic and rapid

6. Social categorisation Three mental processes
Social identification
Social comparison
Categorisation
Our sense of self is based on membership of social groups
We divide the world into “them” and “us”
Known as in-group (us) and out-group (them).
Tells us things
about people
Adopt emotionally significant in-group behaviours
Tired up with our self-esteem. Critical to understanding prejudice

7. Explicit vs Implicit Social Bias
(Abrams & Houston 2006) Jones, P 2005 Implicitly 3000

9. Triggers
When we are placed under emotional load such as stress, anger, frustration
When we are under cognitive load such as making complex decisions
When our emotional and cognitive resources are depleted

10. 5 types of prejudice
Aggressive prejudice: Open and explicit animosity, often backed up with violence
Banal Prejudice: Implicit examples of less positive attitudes, which may be intentional or unintentional
Benevolent Prejudice: Expressions of positive views that are not intended to demonstrate less positive attitudes, but which still produce negative consequences
Cathartic prejudice: A view that is recognises as being less positive, (therefore unacceptable) that is justified and rendered acceptable
Unintentional Prejudice: Attitudes or behaviours that unwittingly demonstrate an ignorance or lack of understanding

11. 52% of gay men had experienced harassment
40% of lesbian, gay or bisexual workers were not out to their manager
46% never or hardly ever think it is acceptable for a gay man be to a primary school teacher
34% think the same for lesbians
35% think that gay men should not be hospital doctors
32% think the same for lesbians
75% of heterosexuals believe it is wrong to refuse a job to someone due to their sexual orientation

12. Affinity bias
Affinity (like me) bias: leads us to favour people who are like us.
Commonness leads to
Comfort leads to
Competence
“He reminds me of myself at his age”
Gender, ethnicity, social background, accent, nationality, sexual orientation and disability….etc.

13. I’ve known very talented bankers
that have, essentially been
side lined or fired once it’s know
that they are gay.
If I came out at work it would be
career suicide.
I’d love to march in
London Pride but as a
deputy head of a London
primary school I have be
very carefully in case I’m
seem by parents.
I work in a very male
dominated work
environment. They often
make comments about
my sexuality.
The legal sector has very
traditional attitudes and ways
of working. There are unwritten
norms. Colleagues know I am
gay but I think they’d rather I
was wasn’t.

14. Higher earners find it more difficult to be open about their sexuality at work
There is widespread concealment amongst the British workforce
When at work people modify their behaviour to ensure colleagues do not discover their sexuality

15. Bias control tips Positive Role Models Re-categorisation
Individualisation
Get tested

16. Contact me: Dan Robertson Diversity & Inclusion Director
Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion /

17. Overview of key provisions Vera Bermingham Kingston Law School
The Equality Act 2010
Overview of key provisions
Vera Bermingham
Kingston Law School

18. Protected characteristics
Age; disability; race; religion and belief; gender; sexual orientation; pregnancy and maternity; marriage and civil partnership; gender re-assignment

19. Concepts in discrimination law
Direct and indirect discrimination
Harassment
Victimisation
Positive action
Equality duties on public bodies

20. Direct and Indirect discrimination
requires proof of different treatment between applicant and his/her comparator
Indirect discrimination
requires proof that the same requirement or condition was applied, for example......

21. Direct Discrimination
To treat someone less favourably than someone else has been treated (or would be treated) on grounds of the person’s sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age. An illustration of how the law operates can be seen in…………

22. Showboat Entertainment v Owens 1984
Former RRA Section 1 (1) (a) ..”on racial grounds”
Note: Motive of the alleged discriminator is immaterial and there is no defence of justification (there is in indirect discrimination)

23. What does ‘less favourably mean?’
This means that there must be a comparison with another person. Example: Pregnancy Turley v Allders (1980) Hayes v Malleable WMV (1985) Webb v EMO Cargo (1991)

24. Indirect discrimination….
.. is less straightforward. This applies where a particular policy or practice, which, on the face of it appears to treat everyone equally, but which actually, in practice, leads to people from a particular group being treated less favourably than other people. Mandla v Lee (see below)

25. ......in Griggs v Duke Power 1971(US)
employees required to have successfully completed high school and to have achieved scores on two professionally prepared aptitude tests
standards applied fairly to white and black people alike
Although disparity outside employer’s control - still liable

26. Mandla v Dowell Lee (1983, HL)
Race claim involving headmaster’s refusal to permit Sikh boy to wear a turbin.
Sikhs constituted an ‘ethnic group’
Indirect discrimination

27. The Court held further that …
….intent or discriminatory purpose is irrelevant; it is consequences that matter
tests used for hiring and promotion must be job related
invalid practices, however neutral in intent, that caused a disparate impact upon a group protected by the act are unlawful

28. Indirect discrimination: ‘Justification’ defence
Provision, criterion or practice (PCP) must be objectively justified by a legitimate aim....

29. Public bodies - General Equality Duty
There is one General Equality Duty with a focus on output rather than input. The Equality Act (section 149) states that our General Equality Duty is to have due regard to the need to:
eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
advance equality of opportunity between different groups; and
foster good relations between different groups
Advance (used to be promote)
Foster (used to be promote) - tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between people from different groups.