Understanding the Unconscious Unconscious bias is a part of every area of our lives. Unconsciously, we tend to like people who look like us, think like us and come from backgrounds similar to ours. These are our natural people preferences and they are hard-wired into our brains on a neurological level. Social psychologists describe this as social categorisation, which means that we routinely and automatically sort people into groups. Unconscious bias has been identified as a significant challenge in the workplace. Put simply, unconscious biases can be defined as ‘our implicit people preferences, formed by our socialisation, our experiences, and by our exposure to others’ views about other groups of people’. Take this example for instance: Joshua Bell, a world-renowned classical musician, took to a metro station in L’Enfant Plaza, Washington, in rush hour to play some of the finest classic pieces written on one of the world’s most expensive violins. Disguised as a street performer, he was acknowledged by only a tiny handful of people, with the majority walking straight past the performance of a lifetime. Bell made a total of $32.17 in the performance which lasted 43 minutes and was heard by over a thousand people. Three days before, he had filled the house at Boston’s Symphony Hall, where seats sold for $100 each. Was this outcome the result of unconscious biases the public tend to hold against street performers? Or perhaps the passersby simply didn’t like his music. Either way, the question stands that, how many times a similar situation has occurred in interview situations, and how many talented people have been rejected from jobs due to preconceptions and unconscious biases of their interviewers. It is important to note that unconscious bias is not discrimination. Discrimination is a conscious, unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice. Unconscious bias, on the other hand, is due to the fact that much of our social behaviour is driven by learned stereotypes that operate automatically—and therefore unconsciously—when we interact with other people. The term stereotype often has a negative connotation, but in fact a stereotype is simply a mechanism for our minds to sort out and categorize the different types of people we meet into groups in order to help us determine how to interact with them. An understanding of unconscious bias is an invitation to a new level of engagement about diversity issues. It requires awareness, introspection, authenticity, humility, and compassion. And most of all, it requires communication and a willingness to act.
Our Approach to Awareness There are two approaches to implementing an awareness session that helps employees make better decisions based on what they know, rather than what they feel. Based on the number of participants and the objectives of the intervention the client can choose to do a workshop through: Class room learning session (Batch size of 20 participants) Theatre based learning session (Batch size of 75-100 participants) The sessions are designed to challenge mind-sets and help employees understand their role in building an inclusive workplace. The workshops will invite participation, encourage accountability and create a space to explore perceptions and attitudes influenced by the unconscious bias. We do an extensive pre-study to understand the organisational areas where biases play out and collect live stories and scenarios where the impact is most prominent. This is done through One –on one conversations with Stakeholders/ HR, Focus group discussions with employees across levels, Surveys and E-questionnaires The data collected in this step is used to design the flow of the workshop. Execution through Theatre: 4 hours session Behavioural facilitators use drama as a springboard to discussions, reflective thinking techniques to overcome own barriers. The session’s challenges unconscious bias and the non-inclusive behaviours in a way that provokes thought and stimulates honest debate. The workshop will hold a mirror to your organisation and bring to life the business and moral drivers for inclusion Execution through Classroom learning: 8 hours session A mix of Conversations, Case studies, Role Plays, Videos and other Simulated Activities to bring out the following as outcome of the session: Addressing the business driver for reducing bias Understanding unconscious bias, its nature and the consequences
Explore own bias via experiential sessions to spot micro-behaviours in self and others Actions plans to seed collective behavioural change
Differentiators Classroom- based Learning
Theatre- based Learning Advantages Real time observation of how the unconscious bias plays out and the Advantages: impact thereafter Deeper understanding of the mechanics Focussing on sensitizing behind the unconscious bias Deep reflections on where do biases come Focuses on raising awareness from Deeper interaction with facilitators on More engaging as it appeals to multiple strategies, tools and techniques due to intelligences smaller numbers Non- threating space allows for a more open-minded approach and deeper conversations, specially due to safety in numbers Limitations: A possibility of entering the personal space Limitations: of the participants too quickly; may be The format is designed to creating seen as ‘threatening’ which may prevent awareness and general ideas on deeper introspection and reflection strategies at a collective level The understanding of how collective A basic understanding of strategies and behaviours can cascade into larger issue techniques is minimized