Unconscious Bias#aic16-bias

Close your eyes

• Saves you time and effort from processing everything helping your brain categorize information

• Influenced by our background, our cultural environment, and our personal experiences

• If we try to believe that everyone has good intentions, then most bias falls under the category of unconscious bias

Bias = prejudice in favor or against a person, group, or thing compared to something or someone else

What will I learn?Common vocabulary

Common biases

Consequences of the biases

Decoupling bias

How to act in certain situations

Implicit Association Test

70% of white people have a preference for white people 50% of black people have a presence for white people

implicit.harvard.edu

76% of people have a preference for able-bodied people

76% of people more readily associated males with career and females with family

Out-groupGroup that you do not identify with

Judge on accomplishments

In-groupGroup that you identify with

Judge on potential

Intersectionality

Interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group

MicroaggressionA subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a nondominant group, often unintentionally or unconsciously

Sometimes the bias is ridiculous, sometimes it’s dangerous, and sometimes it’s a low to high buzz that

won’t go away

Perception that everyone believes this stereotype

Get nervous and anxious about playing into the stereotype

Get tired of fighting to be heard and stop talking as much

Do not have the same influence as before

Become less confident and engaged

Do not perform as well

Spend energy holding back your authentic self

Stereotype Threat

We want to hire and retain the best talent

Why do we care?

Perceived bias effects commitment, job satisfaction, work place tensions, and someone’s feelings of belonging and worth

Diverse teams tackle complex problems better and have more innovation

1.12xMore

Discretionary Effort

1.57xMore Team

Collaboration

1.42xMore Team

Commitment

1.19xHigher Intent

To Stay

1% Bias• Doughnuts can get rated

101%, cupcakes can get rated only up to 100%

• 15% attrition at each level, backfill from the next highest performer

• Simulation was run 20 times

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A little bias goes a long wayL8

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rework.google.com

“Well, I know this stuff happens, but it’s not that

bad, is it?”

“I’ve never heard it myself”

“This stuff doesn’t happen here”

“This is blown out of proportion"

Hiring

Favor people with similar backgrounds to our own

Assumptions about why they have their background

Think a certain profile will succeed at a certain role

Unintentionally overlook candidates that don’t fit that profile

Pattern Recognition

Stereotype Incongruence

Male

Female

Recommended for Hire

Recommended for Hire

No PTA

PTA

European sounding name

African-American sounding name

Recommended for HireBrendan Gregg Emily Anne Brendan Emily

AishaTyroneRasheedTamika

Equivalent: 8 years of experience

RecruitingPick between school smarts and street smarts

Bias towards street smarts

Pick between male and female candidates

Bias towards male candidates

Articulate expectation of street or school smarts ahead of time

Bias was removed

Structured Interviewing:Same criteria and

data-driven questions

Ask for Evidence:Don’t fill in the

blanks with your own assumptions

Minimum Qualifications:

Evaluate using these instead of

shifting standards

Understand Culture Fit:

Don’t classify your feelings, point to values in a rubric

Remove names and dates:Does this have

potential for bias?

Play Devil’s Advocate:

“Would we think this of an [x] candidate?”

Daily Interactions

PeasUnseasoned

Soggy

BroccoliDelicious

Crisp

HeidiSelfish

Self-promoter

HowardLikable

More Appealing

“I don’t know any serious female developers”

“Statistically, there are more men than women so using ‘he’ makes sense” / “Using ‘he’ is grammatically correct”

Gender

“God didn’t make men and women to be the same; women are just worse at logic”

“I always forget that you’re not white. You just seem so normal”

Using accents or dialects: “Hey sistah gurl”

Race and Ethnicity

“I have a [race/ethnicity] friend who…”

Sexual Orientation

“When other people could talk about their spouses, I felt like I needed to hide mine. I wasn’t ashamed of my relationship,

but I didn’t want it to hinder me professionally”

Gender identity

“A coworker was talking about how they thought transgender people were sick people, abominations.

I felt like I was going to vomit — I had just spent an hour telling my transgender sibling that everything would be okay”

Citizenship

“We went from joking around about our children to someone asking me if I was allowed in the secure side of the building.

They didn’t ask anyone else.

I felt like a second-class citizen”

Abilities/Disabilities AgeInvisible Illnesses

Learning StylesWeight/Body Mass

ClothingNew Team Member

Kids/No Kids

Introversion/Extroversion

Client Knowledge ReligionVerbal Slurs

“I question everything”

How do you speak?

“You always say that” | “We never do that”

“The [client/person/group] is wrong/doesn’t know what they’re talking about”

Who is in your meetings?

“At a client site, we were at a meeting and the team lead introduced themselves and not me. When I spoke up about an issue, the clients didn’t have any context as to why I was in the room and what my role was.”

“I was new on a team and the person who brought me to a meeting didn’t think to introduce me. As a result, everyone thought I was the client and treated me differently”

“At a client site, we were at a meeting and the team lead introduced themselves and not me. When I spoke up about an issue, the clients didn’t have any context as to why I was in the

room and what my role was.”

“I was new on a team and the person who brought me to a meeting didn’t think to introduce me. As a result, everyone

thought I was the client and treated me differently”

“I asked a candidate an interview question, and he looked at the male interviewer when answering instead of me”

“I brought up an issue and the team didn’t look at me until someone else restated it and actively redirected the conversation”

Who do you look at when you speak?

“When no one on the team knows something, they look immediately to the person who they trust the most to have the answer.”

Solicit input from everyone

Listen carefully

Call out when someone has an idea

Interrupt the interrupters

Assign responsibilities

Ground Rules for MeetingsIntroduce everyone

Cupcakes are too pretty to be

a tasty dessert Uhh… what?

Disappointment: Why isn’t anyone saying anything?

Worry: Will this person be receptive to hearing this is wrong?

Hope: Maybe someone will say something

Shock: I can’t believe they said that

Anger: #$%& that person. What a jerk.

Did something happen?

Welp, that was awkward

Option 1: Say nothingOption 2: Wait until later to say something to the person affected

• Bad: “They didn’t mean it” | “It was just a joke” | “You’re overreacting”

• Good: “I understand that was a bad thing. How do you want me to support you?”

Woah, that was so not cool

Option 1: Say nothingOption 2: Call it out!

• Bad: Negatively comment about the offender or humiliate them

• “Hey, that really wasn’t okay” • “What did you mean by that?”• “Why do you think that?”

What are they thinking?

• “I believe this because the majority of people I’ve encountered fit this"

• “This is a funny joke”• “I don’t know that this is offensive”

While getting called out:

Don’t play it off or act like it didn’t happen• “It was just a joke, lighten up”• “I was just being sarcastic”• “It doesn’t mean what you think it

means”• “Everyone else found it funny”

• Shame: “I was wrong and now I feel bad…”

How do I recover?

Learn to apologize sincerely• Bad: “I’m sorry you felt that way”• “I didn’t realize that it was offensive” • “I’m sorry I said that” • “Can we talk about why it was

offensive?”• “Can you continue to call me out if I

do this again?”

I’m sorry It’s okay

Flip the Narrative

Increase Exposure to Outgroups

Focus on Successful Outgroup

People

Question Yourself

Think From Their

Perspective

Hold Yourself and

Others Accountable

Decoupling Bias

Listen, Believe, and Acknowledge

Challenge and Counter Stereotypes

Be Aware and Understand the Impact

Assess Your Relationship with Outgroups

Check the Context of Information

Be an Active Bystander

Become a Scientist of Your Own Behavior

What Can I Do?

We have all been a help and a harm to people. Let’s just try to help more often

At the end of the day…

Be caring in how you call it out and thank others when they do

Keep an open mind, keep learning and growing, and we’ll all move forward