Unconscious Bias
You’ve probably heard or read a lot about unconscious or implicit bias. The term refers to biases we all hold that are hidden from ourselves, unlike conscious biases, where an individual is fully aware of their biases. Unconscious biases can be preferences for one group of people over another (tall over short, English speakers over speakers of other languages, non-smokers over smokers, etc.). These biases result from years of personal experiences, media influences, and influences from friends and families. Having unconscious bias doesn’t make us bad people – all people have unconscious biases. They are simply a result of how our brains make sense of the world, by categorizing and labeling items and people to simplify the complexity around us.
Research has shown that we cannot eliminate our unconscious biases, even if we are made aware of them. In fact, simply becoming aware of our unconscious biases can actually reinforce those biases. Many organizations implement processes to remove the possibility of unconscious biases, such as companies removing names from the resumes of job applicants or orchestras holding blind auditions where the musicians auditioning are not seen as they perform.
Although we cannot eliminate our unconscious biases, what we can do is shape our unconscious biases to better fit our view of the world. So how do we do that? We can shift our biases through exposure to information that is counter to our current biases – movies, TV shows, books, documentaries. Getting to know people who have different experiences from ourselves also can have positive impacts on our unconscious biases, so diversify your network, travel, and volunteer. if you want to shift your unconscious biases to see women and men as equals, find movies and books that tell the stories of strong, successful women and get to know successful women – over time, your brain will shift its perception of women and that bias will change.
If you would like to learn more about unconscious bias, we encourage you to reach out to us. UBelong provides resources to drive understanding of unconscious bias and practical exercises to help avoid and positively shift unconscious biases.