Talking About Bias Is Hard

Talking about bias is hard.  We don’t want to admit that we think differently – or act differently – based on how someone looks (or sounds).  But we do.  We’ve been conditioned by society (and often our families as well) to think and behave in certain ways, and it’s hard to break those old habits, no matter how much we want to.

Bias exists.  Discrimination exists.  Even if you think you aren’t doing it, you probably are.  And it has a real and negative financial impact on your business.  (Think about it:  You can’t get the best ideas if your company isn’t listening to 50% of the population – customers and workers…)

However, it’s not just enough to know that bias exists – and that we do it.  We also need to state clearly that we’re not okay with it, that we’re working really hard to counteract it.

“Rather than merely informing managers that stereotypes persisted, [researchers] added that a “vast majority of people try to overcome their stereotypic preconceptions.” With this adjustment, discrimination vanished in their studies. After reading this message, managers were 28 percent more interested in working with a female candidate who negotiated assertively and judged her as 25 percent more likable [than those managers who did not receive that added sentence].

“When we communicate that a vast majority of people hold some biases, we need to make sure that we’re not legitimating prejudice. By reinforcing the idea that people want to conquer their biases and that there are benefits to doing so, we send a more effective message: Most people don’t want to discriminate, and you shouldn’t either.”

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