Facing Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
The flurry of discourse around Google
engineer James Damore’s memo suggesting hypocrisy in the Silicon Valley
company’s diversity program has caused an uproar and has become the news headline
of the day. However, the push toward diversity in the workplace and the
pushback against these efforts is not new.
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https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/9/16122072/google-diversity-bias-training-james-damore-memo
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https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/9/16122072/google-diversity-bias-training-james-damore-memo
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Just a few years ago, much was made
of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s clumsy comments in a keynote address to a
women’s tech group when he noted that women in the workplace should not ask for
a raise but “have faith that the system will give them raises.”
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/10/10/microsoft-ceos-advice-to-women-on-asking-for-a-raise-have-faith-in-the-system/
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What came over Nadella, who has a
strong track record of hiring and promoting women inside of Microsoft?
And Nadella was not alone, a year
later, Google Executive Chair, Eric Schmidt was called out in public by the
head of his own unconscious bias program for repeatedly interrupting the women
sharing the stage with him.
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I would suggest that neither men
contracted a bad case of “foot in mouth disease” but they suffer from the human
ailment of unconscious bias. That is the mental residue most of us hold about
people or groups -- prejudices that are embedded in our psyche over a period of
time that go unrecognized … until they suddenly appear.
Unconscious
bias is one of the reasons achieving a diverse workplace is so difficult. This
lasting residue about a particular group has most likely been reinforced
through stereotypical images in media combined with a lack of social interaction
outside of our tribe.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Initiative, “Mass media routinely take advantage of stereotypes as shorthand.” For example, criminal activity is seen perpetrated by black and brown males, women are the victims of crime and “the elderly, are portrayed as being frail and forgetful, while younger people are often shown as vibrant and able.” Critics of television have long decried the omission of people of color, and until recently “TV shows presented an all-white world.” (Teaching Tolerance Initiative).
Those messages buried deep in the unconscious are hard to shake. Holding partiality towards those who are similar to us, who look like and sound like us, breed homogenous work environments. “You hire people who are like you, they do the same,” says Hank Williams, founder of Platform.org.
Unconscious bias leads to a lack of diversity and can prevent creativity, which Silicon Valley and the tech industry are discovering. “Google says part of the problem is in our mind: a shared, unconscious bias that not only affects the makeup of Silicon Valley's workforce, but also affects what markets technology company's products reach”.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Initiative, “Mass media routinely take advantage of stereotypes as shorthand.” For example, criminal activity is seen perpetrated by black and brown males, women are the victims of crime and “the elderly, are portrayed as being frail and forgetful, while younger people are often shown as vibrant and able.” Critics of television have long decried the omission of people of color, and until recently “TV shows presented an all-white world.” (Teaching Tolerance Initiative).
Those messages buried deep in the unconscious are hard to shake. Holding partiality towards those who are similar to us, who look like and sound like us, breed homogenous work environments. “You hire people who are like you, they do the same,” says Hank Williams, founder of Platform.org.
Unconscious bias leads to a lack of diversity and can prevent creativity, which Silicon Valley and the tech industry are discovering. “Google says part of the problem is in our mind: a shared, unconscious bias that not only affects the makeup of Silicon Valley's workforce, but also affects what markets technology company's products reach”.
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Click to read the article:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/25/unconscious-bias-is-why-we-dont-have-a-diverse-workplace-says/
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Fortunately, tools are available to measure one’s bias. The Implicit Association Test or IATs are gaining recognition in business for rooting out one’s bias and prejudice. “The willingness to examine your own possible biases is an important step in understanding the roots of stereotypes and prejudice” in our workplace and in our communities. (Teaching Tolerance)
Dr. Marcella “Marcy” De Veaux is a Depth Psychologist and offers
training and workshops in rooting out bias, cultural competency and diversity
in the workplace.
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