Topic: The End of Bias: A Beginning: The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias (Metropolitan Books, Sept. 21 2021)
GATE Faculty Teaching Fellow Nouman Ashraf and author Jessica Nordell discussed how to overcome the unconscious biases that exist around us. Jessica shared some of the gripping stories from her book The End of Bias: A Beginning: The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias, and offered research insights about what we can do to eradicate discrimination.
Unconscious bias can be seen in medicine, education, policing, and other workplaces, and can have corrosive and even lethal effects. Jessica highlighted how simply diversifying workplaces is not enough to counteract biases and that more diverse workplaces do not necessarily mean more productive workplaces.The discussion highlighted that tackling unfairness is the key to creating an inclusive environment. Creating diverse teams can benefit organizations but these benefits can only be achieved when organizations are inclusive. When employees feel that they aren’t being treated well and that organizational practices are fundamentally unfair, their engagement and commitment to the workplace decreases. When they don’t feel psychologically safe in their workplace, they withdraw. To create a thriving workplace culture, it’s important to address the unfairness that bias can create.
“Tackling bias is essential to creating trusting relationships with other people. That’s one of the most gratifying things that can happen to anyone who is working on their own bias. It opens up the door for meaningful relationships across differences that weren’t possible before.”
– Jessica Nordell
Watch Jessica Nordell discuss how we can tackle unfairness and bias in the workplace