The concept of unconscious bias or “hidden bias” has come into the forefront of our work as diversity advocates because the dynamics of diversity are changing. We have generally assumed that patterns of discriminatory behavior in organizations are conscious; that people who know better do the right thing, and those who don’t cause bias.
As a result, we have developed a “good person/bad person” paradigm of diversity: a belief that good people are not biased, but inclusive, and that bad people are the biased ones. This belief becomes even more significant as our mental models cement these beliefs/biases.
Workshop Objectives:
- Definition of biases
- Introduction to Mental Models
- Conscious vs. unconscious bias
- Recognizing that you have biases
- Identifying the types of biases
- Deciding which of your biases you will address first
- Eliminating your biases
- The Power of Reflection