Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work with Stacey Gordon
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I feel fairly confident, at this point in time, there are few – if any – people left in the workforce who haven’t read about, learned about, or spoken about the concept of bias.
When I had my first corporate job over 20 years ago, bias wasn’t a concept being spoken about in any great detail by anyone in the workforce. I worked in the HR department of a company and not one person was talking about or thinking about bias at the time. In fact, when I think back to those years working in HR or alongside HR, it wasn’t until the 5th or 6th year (when I was involved in hiring a group of students to take part in a co-op program, one that I eventually ended up leading) that the topic of bias came up at all. And at that point, it came up in the context of “make sure you follow this exact script in all the interviews to eliminate bias,” not at any point prior to that to ensure there wasn’t bias present in how the candidates that were being considered for interviews came together. And this was despite all the information available that indicated it was a widespread problem when it came to hiring!
Thankfully, the concept of bias is much more accessible and understandable now than it was back then. And more and more people are waking up to the concept that, in fact, the systems in place everywhere (including in business, leadership, and otherwise) are inherently biased. And while there are some very apparent and unfortunate realities that come with that acknowledgment (for example, systems that are adjusted to include people when we realize they have historically been excluded are very different from systems that are designed with the people in mind from the get-go – hint, this is why an entire redesign is often necessary), it also creates the opportunity for all of us to get comfortable with the fact that bias is not, on its own, necessarily a “bad” or negative thing.
Back in the dark ages when I was in University (over 20 years ago when smartphones and good internet access were pipe dreams and the internet was a wasteland of disconnected ideas that Ask Jeeves attempted to link together coherently), I remember taking an Anthropology course wherein we discussed the idea of biases when it came to groups of people. The professor was positing that, at a certain point in time, our biases were one of the ways that we likely stayed safe. The idea being that people who were part of our group were friendly, but people who were part of another group were likely unfriendly. Unsurprisingly, the concept was more complex than this, but that’s a brief overview of what was being presented to the class.
This concept always stuck with me because it made so much sense – at one point, our biases were integral to our survival. And, unfortunately, our brains don’t seem to be particularly good at separating the biases that keep us alive at a certain point in history (and sometimes now as well, i.e. don’t pet lions) from all of the other biases we walk around with, based on our upbringing, culture, society, family, and otherwise. Because so many of the things we do and accept we don’t even recognize as bias. Those things are “cultural norms”, “societal expectations”, etc.
One of the things I do consistently in my work and life is to shine a spotlight on those things and challenge people (and myself) to take a look at what those accepted things are and consciously, intentionally decide if that belief/mode of operating/behaviour is actually serving them and something they agree with and value. It’s always astonishing to me how rarely people even recognize those things as anything other than the truth or the right way of being and how uncomfortable my interest in questioning all of those “traditions” makes them.
Stacey Gordon is an author, consultant and bias disruptor who graciously shared so many incredible insights on the podcast this week. According to Stacey, we’re at a tipping point right now when it comes to bias where more people in the workplace think we should be doing something about the bias that exists, than not. And yet, we aren’t doing those things because we’re socialized not to. So the gap that we must breach is the one that exists from thinking about this as a problem to be solved or an opportunity for improvement, to doing something about it.
We have to notice that we are doing this thing. Then, choose to do something different – even if it’s not the “right” thing. We need to practice not retreating if we get a negative reaction (someone might be having a bad day, we might have said something stupid… we’re human, it happens!), and we have to learn to give more grace and allow the opportunity for a do-over.
Stacey says, addressing unconscious bias is a lot like riding a bike… You can learn all the things, take, and pass the test but until you actually get on a bike, you’re not going to be able to do it. Now is the time to bridge the gap from learning and knowing to doing. We need to implement what we’ve learned.
Join us for this important conversation. And, if you feel led to do so, go ahead and share it with a friend. We’d love that!
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Stacey Gordon is a workplace culture consultant, keynote speaker, author, facilitator of learning and Executive Advisor on Diversity Strategies. As the founder of Rework Work, it is her goal to change the way employers interact with employees. She expects leaders to lead and works to help employees belong.
She has worked with people managers and executive leaders from companies such as American Express, ADP, Kia Motors, Hewlett Packard, GE, The Obama Foundation and many others to deliver education, coaching and consulting that supports organizational change and leadership development in furtherance of creating inclusive workplace cultures.
As a globally recognized keynote speaker, leadership consultant and DEI strategist, Stacey has provided subject matter expertise to Harvard Business Review, SHRM, Fast Company, Skillsoft, Forbes, NPR and BBC Radio. Stacey’s book, UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work debuted at #1 on Amazon’s Hot New Release list while her unconscious bias course on the LinkedIn learning platform was the #1 most watched course of 2021 and has been translated into several languages.
Her audience includes more than 2 million unique learners and Stacey has been recognized as a passionate supporter of DEI by Forbes, Pepperdine University and LinkedIn. She earned her MBA from Pepperdine University Business School and her SHRM-SCP certification, as well as the SHRM Inclusive Workplace Culture Credential.
To learn more visit learn.reworkwork.com. You can also find her on LinkedIn (Stacey A. Gordon), Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (ReworkWork).