Elijah McClain, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Armaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. Why do these names and so many others sound familiar because of senseless brutality and failed policies? After George Floyd’s death, many corporations declared that Black Lives Matter and all vowed to change to a structure not welcoming to women or BIPOC (Black, Indigenousness, People of Color). But how many changed, and how many kept that promise to do better? Did these corporate board room and C-Suites talk the talk, or did they walk down to a colleague of color’s office to ask, “how can I do better?”  

So, let’s start with unconscious biases. We all carry them. That is, we hold assumptions about social groups that- without our awareness or conscious control – shape our likes, dislikes, and judgments about abilities and character. Hidden bias is universal—however, it does not make us bad people. Once we come to this understanding, we are in a better, more comfortable position to talk about it, recognize its harmful (albeit unintended) effects, and accept the challenge of counteracting the biases that we all have. The good news is that this does not need to involve complex new processes or costly initiatives. Instead, we can start with deliberate, conscious efforts to incorporate inclusiveness in our business decisions and everyday workplace interactions. 

There are five types of biases that we can all identify with:

Affinity Bias

 The tendency to be partial to people who are similar to us. For example, a hiring manager may immediately like a job candidate because they attended the same college.

Perception Bias

 When someone cannot make an objective judgment about a person because they belong to a group, they already have preconceived notions. For instance, an employee may automatically believe that his new Asian coworker will be good at math—even though she was hired for a writing position.

The Halo Effect

 It occurs when someone lets a trait positively influence their evaluation of other unrelated characteristics. A workplace example of this could be a hiring manager who believes a job candidate will be a good leader because he is tall. The horns effect—or the opposite of the halo effect—is when someone lets a trait negatively influence their evaluation of other unrelated characteristics.

Confirmation Bias

 It occurs when people seek out information that confirms their preexisting beliefs. This often involves drawing selectively from available information and only acknowledging information that aligns with one’s assumptions. For example, a manager may be engaging in confirmation bias if he only pays attention to the number of women who’ve left the organization after having children—and completely ignores the many women who didn’t—to prove his belief that women are likely to quit working after having children.

Groupthink or Conformity

When people hold back their thoughts and opinions to fit in with a particular group in the workplace, this can cause employees to lose their identity and stifle creativity.

Could This Affect a Businesses Bottom Line?

The short answer is yes. DEI (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion) should always be a part of any business objectives. Businesses that don’t or don’t think they need it because “everyone” is happy or doesn’t have a problem are not talking to the right employees. Employees at large companies who perceive bias vs. those who don’t are nearly three times as likely (20% vs. 7%) to be disengaged at work. Gallup estimates that active disengagement costs U.S. companies $450 billion to $550 billion per year. Bias also impacts retention. Those who perceive bias are more than three times as likely vs. those who don’t (31% to 10%) say that they’re planning to leave their current jobs within the year. Bias impedes innovation. Those who perceive bias are 2.6 times more likely vs. those who don’t (34% to 13%) say that they’ve withheld ideas and market solutions over the previous six months.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

-Nelson Mandela

Five Things Businesses Can Do to Enact Change

It Starts with Awareness

 Learners must understand what unconscious bias is, where it comes from, and what it looks like at work. Good training will help learners understand why this matter and make them want to be a solution.

Uses Real-World Workplace Examples

 Research has shown that learners will retain critical concepts when they relate to the real world, concrete situations. Unconscious bias training for the workplace should include relatable examples and scenarios in natural work settings.

Learners Set Challenging but Attainable Goals

 Unconscious bias training should leave learners with actions and a plan for how to move forward. Recent research has also found that learners can have more success building lasting behaviors and habits that help manage unconscious bias by setting actionable goals.

Moves from Awareness to Action

 Awareness is vital—but understanding alone is rarely adequate for change. Learners need tools and skills so they can then take action to change behaviors and interrupt unconscious biases. Teaching awareness without also delivering actionable strategies for change can be frustrating and disheartening, possibly leading to a backlash.

Unconscious Bias is a Life-Long Journey

 No one training is going to solve the significant problem of unconscious bias in the workplace. Good training exercises should invite participants to engage in constant awareness-building as a lifelong journey into how we make decisions.

In conclusion, many businesses don’t know where to start or how to begin; bringing in a specialist can help you identify where you need to make changes and how you should stick with those changes over the long-haul. One seminar or one Zoom meeting will not help you. Actively seek information outside of your business and regularly. Engage with all of your employees and create internal policies within your business that ensure everyone is treated fairly. Businesses that walk-the-walk will see happier employees, more innovation, and increased profits!