In this article, diversity and inclusion consultant Hafeez will look at what unconscious bias is, why it matters and how we can tackle it. We’re all responsible for challenging stereotypes and tackling our own biases. We each have reasons for our own set of unconscious biases – negative and positive. How we overcome them is all about our personal approach.
What is Unconscious Bias?
During any meeting with diversity and inclusion consultants, advisors, advocates and human resources staff the phrase ‘unconscious bias’ will come up several times. Unconscious bias is arguably the biggest challenge for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
The most common causes of exclusion and unfair treatment stem from an individual’s unconscious bias. The issue, for both employers and employees, is that we’re often not conscious of thoughts that can lead to poor actions and decision-making. That means we’re often unaware of how we’ve affected another person.
A bias is a positive or negative belief about a category of people. An unconscious bias is a positive or negative belief that we’re unaware we have.
We tend to categorise people into ‘in-groups’ and ‘out-groups’. These categories can relate to visual similarities and other factors such as accent, education, religion, wealth and even where someone lives. Psychologists often refer to unconscious biases as our unintentional people preferences. Bias is a typical function of being human, so it’s completely normal and natural. Unconscious bias is an automatic decision-making process. We all do it!
You may’ve heard of the phrase ‘implicit bias’. It means the same as unconscious bias. Implicit bias is often used to refer to unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that can be found in the criminal justice system, the workplace, schools and the healthcare system.
The key issue created by these biases is that we make more effort for those in our in-group than those in an out-group – who we tend to regard as ‘all the same’.
Bias occurs in many ways in the workplace. For example, when recruiting, an interview panel often sees a candidate favourably because they have shared interests, experiences or background. It can be as simple as a hiring manager who enjoys cycling asking candidates what they do in their spare time. If the candidate happens to say cycling, the hiring manager may now believe they can work with the individual because they have similar preferences. People often make decisions to hire based on whether they think the other person is like them.
Why does unconscious bias matter?
The world is complex. According to Timothy Wilson – a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and author of Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious – we’re exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information per second.
To be able to cope with this potential information overload, our brains have two parts: a conscious and an unconscious. The unconscious part allows quick thinking and speedy processing. For the brain to work efficiently it needs to make shortcuts.
Unconscious bias shapes our decision-making, our actions and our reactions – negative and positive. Because unconscious bias is automatic and happens without our conscious thought, we need to give it serious consideration.
Some biases help to keep us alive or comfortable, so they are useful in that sense. However, they can also be harmful. When unconscious bias influences our behaviour towards others it can cause inequalities, widen disparities and even reduce creativity.
I once worked for an organisation where I needed to use my lanyard to pass through the entrance barriers each morning. For two years, this daily routine happened without any issues. Until one morning when I approached the barrier – with my lanyard ready to scan – and a security officer left his station to ask me what I was doing there. I told him I was going to my office and he asked to see my ID. He didn’t think I could work in those offices. I showed him my ID and he was incredibly apologetic and somewhat embarrassed. I believe his unconscious bias played a role here. There were hardly any people who looked like me in the building. And those that did were uniformed cleaners. Perspective is everything!
We need to recognise our unconscious bias to manage it effectively and efficiently. By doing this, we ensure we’re not perpetuating our biases in the workplace and wider society.
Where do unconscious biases come from?
Although we all have biases it’s important to remember we’re not born with them. It’s a learned way of thinking.
Everybody is different and we encounter a diverse set of people every day. Some differences cannot be detected by looking at someone but, somehow, we still pick up these interesting viewpoints.
From an early age, we learn to place people and objects into categories. Placing people into categories makes us feel comfortable and confident. For example, when you meet someone for the first time you may unconsciously feel superior because you’re from a more affluent area or a more developed nation.
That unconscious bias provides confidence. It may also influence your conversation with the other person.
We’re influenced by those around us. Our parents, siblings and peers have shaped our thoughts. We also take on ideas received from the media – the movies we’ve watched, the music we’ve listened to and the books we’ve read. The media has intensified our tendency to label different racial, cultural or other groups as superior or inferior. Let’s call these our historic thoughts!
Although you’re often unaware of your historic thoughts, you can begin to uncover them by monitoring them: when you encounter an ethnic last name, see different ethnic groups, hear an accent different to yours, interact with someone who has a disability, or learn that a person has a different sexuality to you.
Our unconscious bias is constantly working without us realising it – like an app working in the background on our smartphones. Because it’s working at an unconscious level, we develop stereotypes without being aware of them.
Unconscious bias and stereotypes
Stereotypes are a consequence of unconscious bias. A stereotype is a conventional and oversimplified concept or opinion. Stereotypes lead us to think that most, or all, members of a particular group (gender, sexuality, ethnicity or religion) are the same.
Our unconscious bias maintains these views and feeds on them. Diversity and inclusion consultant, Felicity Menzies, describes stereotypes as maintained and reinforced by powerful mental biases that filter out information that contradicts or challenges pre-existing beliefs.
These biases are held so firmly in our brains they can be maintained even when we’re presented with compelling, new information that suggests they’re untrue.
Can you think of negative stereotypes? We’ve probably all heard that ‘women are more emotional’, that ‘working-class people are lazy’ or ‘the younger generation are snowflakes’. Whether we believe and agree with statements like these is often determined by our unconscious bias.
In the work environment, you’ll encounter biases like these influencing the way jobs are advertised and the allocation of promotion and training opportunities.
Unconscious bias in the workplace
Workplaces are becoming more diverse. The advantages of inclusion are clear. To tackle unconscious bias in a sustainable way, companies must invest money, time, care and consideration in their people. Diversity initiatives usually start at the top of an organisation, but change can be made at all levels. Everyone has a role to play.
The most important asset an organisation has is its people! Ultimately, companies want to retain their most talented staff – regardless of what they look or sound like, or what religion they do or do not follow. But unconscious bias always creeps into human minds.
We have multigeneration workforces but, instead of bringing increased understanding of diversity, organisations struggle with bias and the negative actions that can result from it. Most companies have workforces with three or four generations of people. People of different ages – with different lived experiences of work and life – often have some negative ideas about each other.
Each group often believes they can manage things better. And language and communication styles used by different age groups are a common cause of tension.
Multigenerational workforces will experience some conflict. It’s important to find ways to improve engagement within the workforce and improve understanding of generational differences. Dr Megan Gerhardt has identified something she’s named ‘gentelligence’. It’s a new approach to leading an intergenerational workforce. It reveals unrealised opportunities as well as providing the tools to resolve age-based tensions and biases.
Employers must tackle these biases to remain competitive. By 2030 all baby boomers will be eligible for retirement. Increasingly, workers from younger generations want employers who prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion. Organisations must act now to address issues caused by unconscious bias if they wish to be seen as responsible and inclusive employers.
Tips to challenge our own unconscious bias
We must challenge our thoughts.
Ask yourself if your assumptions are based on things you’ve heard from others (school, home, TV or films).
Is it possible some of your negative ideas are incorrect? The answer is yes! Get to know people as individuals. It will change some of your perceptions of others. And it can help to change fixed ideas others may have of you. This simple step is collaborative learning (without the need of a session plan).
Another question to ask yourself, is whether you have the same reaction to a member of a particular group on almost every occasion?
Next, ask yourself if you first had this reaction before or after you’d got to know the person involved?
If you reacted this way before you’d really got to know them, these are likely to be your stereotypes (or historical thoughts). Now you’re aware of them, label them as automatic stereotypes (your unconscious bias). When you catch yourself thinking them, remember they’re not a factual indicator of an individual’s character, skill or personality.
Remember stereotyping is a learned habit. It can be unlearned.
Next time you have a thought that uses a stereotype for a group of people, follow it up with an alternative thought using factual information that discounts the stereotype.
These are some effective ways to work on your own perceptions.
- Learn more using free online training. Tests to help reveal implicit bias and your blind spots are available online and can be very useful
- Think about thinking – any unconscious bias or stereotypes you may have
- Speak to other people – connection creates real-life viewpoints
- Find an event near you where you can learn how to speak out about diversity and inclusivity
- Don’t be too hard on yourself – a thought is private and not an action
- Remember it’s a journey and we never stop learning
Ways employers can overcome unconscious bias in the workplace
- Provide unconscious bias training and workshops for all staff
- Learn about the beliefs and values of others
- Identify ways to value uniqueness amongst your colleagues
- Monitor changes in relationships – is there any hostility?
- Look at the data – what does it say about the diversity of your workplace?
- Suggest videos or reading material aimed at understanding and eliminating discriminations. There are great guides to dealing with unconscious bias in the workplace available online
It’s imperative we treat every person we encounter with respect and dignity. As Dr Martin Luther King said,
Let’s live in a world where we judge people not by their skin colour, but by the content of their character.
