Unconscious Bias

All of us have biases no matter how good we think we are and how much we try to avoid them. Having unconscious biases is a normal part of our makeup and should not be something we are ashamed of It is not about eliminating these biases completely it is about recognizing those biases, some of which we may not even be aware of. Unconscious biases means having discriminations based on gender, race, sexuality, ability and age. I am going to talk about racial biases.

Let’s talk about racial biases.

Racial Biases:

We can often have stereotypes of people that are a different colour than us. For example, we may think that all Asian people are good at math and that all Black people are good runners. While you may not think that these biases may be hurtful, they can in some situations. You may be teaching a student who is from Japan and unconsciously have higher expectations for them in your math class because you believe they should be better at math than the others. However, this may not be fair to this student because this may simply not be their strength, despite what you may have heard.

Mellody Hobson, an American African black woman who is a successful CEO of Arial Investments and was the chairwoman of Dreamworks Animation shared an experience she had when she showed up for a editorial board lunch with a friend who was a senator with a friend and they were taken to a room by the receptionist and asked where their uniforms were. They were mistaken for kitchen help. Was the receptionist assuming this because of their colour?

Now I want you to think of a time you may have made a decision or made an assumption about something because of their colour?

Biases can be extremely hurtful to the other people which makes it extremely important to recognize our unconscious biases and seek to minimize them.

Tip:

• Reflect

  • Take a moment to reflect on your perspective and how you came to this conclusion. Is it accurate?

• Training

  • This is where training and education may come in handy. Often we have had these unconscious biases for years and it is hard to break the habit. It may help to have a facilitator encourage you to think about your own perspectives and dig deep. Talking with others will also help.

  Recognizing our own biases is not easy, but once we take the step to reflecting on situations, our thoughts and perspectives about people that may be different than us, this will help us avoid making decisions that may be influenced by racial biases.