On unconscious bias

“Unconscious bias trainings reinforce biases, if not even justifying them on the basis that biases are part of natural information processing!”

I often read and encounterd thse comments. It always left me with a sense of discomfort and the willigness to understand the reason behind such believe.

Why there is the opinion that these training are not useful?

I observed that in most of the cases, the lack of context is one of the major causes. Organizations should make clear their values and follow them. Very often these training are perceived as a check on the “to do” list, but they are not , they are much more than that.

Training on unconscious bias will not:

– “fix the problem”

– automatically create an inclusive workplace

– automatically create a fair treatment among colleagues

–  automatically counteract discrimination

When these training are actually very useful:

– the real training comes at an individual level 🙌

– mitigating the effects of unconscious biases requires a continuous practice, which can be emotionally challenging 🙌

– they are part of a bigger picture which should be communicated to employees in an organization 🙌

If you want to change the culture at the workplace, it does not happen in a short time, it has to grow within the organization, at different levels and with different approaches ✨

I  run workshops on unconscious bias and I believe that it is important to approach the topic in a way allowing us to learn about biases, how they manifest and share experiences on their consequences at personal and career levels.