UNCONSCIOUS BIAS - it's not a justification for our behaviour

As a female living with a disability … I form, and carry biases toward others.

So do you. We all do.

Unconscious bias is not only the behaviour of the bigoted, racist or sexist - as concerning as that is, it’s also reassuring to know we don’t necessarily create bias with prejudicial intent.

Of course this then poses the question of WHY?
Why do we ALL discriminate?
And does unconscious bias training really make any difference?

The answers are far too complex to explain here, but I’ll try …

It goes without saying that we must look deep into our own personal lives in order to understand the processes and structures that shape who we are and why we believe what we do. Our upbringing and life experiences form our understanding of the world around us, and therefore in order for us to change our mindset, our experiences must first change.

While diversity and inclusion dominate the corporate conversation, it’s important that we understand where and why we have biases. One-off ‘unconscious bias’ training simply isn’t enough to explore these complexities, and since “Unconscious Bias” has become such a trendy topic to talk about, I fear people are now using it as an excuse.

“If we don’t know about it, are we really responsible for it, and – if so – is there anything we can do to stop it?”  

If companies simply throw money at training initiatives but fail to measure their effectiveness, what’s the point – other than to check a box?

You can’t measure someone’s unconscious bias with a test.

The reality is, unconscious bias is not an easy topic to explain. It’s complex and problematic. It is often in complete contrast to what our expected beliefs are. But that’s not justification.

Furthermore, unconscious bias as a notion, suggests discriminations are exclusively rooted in our minds, rather than being issues of policy, practice, legislation and therefore of structures.

The solution needs to be process focused. Behavioural science tells us that it is very hard to eliminate our biases, however what we can do is restructure the organisations that try to evade them.

Asking someone like myself to come and speak to your team is a great start, but unless this is followed up with a plan to shift behaviours, nothing will ever change. Training must be reflective, interactive and non-judgemental, rather than simply asking staff to attend an informative or motivating talk.

Companies must explore programs that focus on shifting the foundations of their own institutions – only then will this will lead to a shift in behaviours, which consequently will help to shift experiences, which will then lead to a shift in mindset.

Companies need to introduce leadership training programs, mentorships and sponsorship networks – you need to know your data and then create an environment for your staff that promotes and empowers behaviour change.

Accountability is important.

It is an ongoing process.

There is no perfect answer to how companies can address unconscious bias and its possible implications, however we need to accept that the process itself is an important part of building new capabilities.

And, we are all part of the process, myself included. My journey as a female living with a disability has provided me with many opportunities to learn and grow, but I still need to work on my own biases, and understand them.

I’m on the cusp on two generations, the older generation in me still needs to open my mind to explore ideas that were never part of my upbringing or surroundings, the younger generation in me has high expectations about the diversity and inclusion conversations that must take place.

I recently completed executive studies on Gender Diversity, and what hit home for me was the fact that most organisations have now embarked on a gender diversity program aimed at increasing the number of women in leadership roles, however the outcome of these initiatives is often only constructive for a narrow group of women; ‘white, middle class, cis gender, heterosexual, able bodied women’.

We must recognise that inequalities and our biases are inherently connected, if we approach them in silo we inevitably exclude people.

Behavioural and structural change are imperative. So the real question is …

Are you invested in creating change?

Jessica Smith OAM
@jessicasmith27