Feds urged to fight ‘unconscious bias’ in hiring and promotions ~ Washington Post
It seems as if there are articles everyday about unconscious bias and its impact on the workplace. April 14 in the Washington Post, an article by Joe Davidson outlines the issue quite well:
As dangerous as it was, battling overt segregation during the civil rights era was in some ways easier than combating today’s insidious racism.
At least you could see the “white only” signs and you knew who was behind them.
Those signs are long gone, but racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination didn’t go with them. They are among us, often hidden, yet potent. The perpetrators of this prejudice would never call themselves bigots and might not even realize they act like one.
Beth Cobert, the acting Office of Personnel Management director, is urging federal officials to confront this unseen, but not unfelt, discrimination.
“As many of you know, one of the most challenging barriers to diversity and inclusion is unconscious bias,” she said at OPM’s diversity and inclusion summit at the Coast Guard headquarters Tuesday. “It’s difficult to grapple with because it is unconscious — not as obvious as calling out someone for using improper language or overtly passing someone over for a promotion. Probably the most unconscious bias exhibited during the hiring process is the ‘like me’ bias. The ‘like me’ bias means leaders and managers typically look to hire or promote people who look like themselves. A white male will select a white male, for example.”
Our new program, Defeating Unconscious Bias, shows the impact of bias in the workplace and teaches 5 skills anyone can use to counter their own personal bias.
More From Our Blog…
Inclusive Hiring Practices
These days, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit, hire and retain employees. The pandemic has shifted the goalposts for millions of people, if not relocated them to entirely new playing fields (sorry to stretch the metaphors). That’s why...
When Unconscious Bias Training Does More Harm Than Good
When I talk about our unconscious bias Workshops via Zoom or Defeating Unconscious Bias, our online e-Learning course, I always emphasize that our approach starts with raising awareness and then adds skills that everyone can practice to interrupt bias. So it was...
Death by a Thousand Cuts
What are the historical roots of microaggressions against Asian Americans? In this important article, published in “Health Matters,” psychiatrist Dr. Warren Ng lays out what microaggressions are and what its history is. The article is, unfortunately, timely because...
The Business Case for DEI: Why Organizations Fall Short
It seems like there are new articles everyday announcing an organizations’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. You can see the statements on their websites. “We stand for….” or “Our commitment is to…”Many believe that creating a more diverse and inclusive...
14 things people think are fine to say at work — but are actually racist, sexist, or offensive
A recent article at Business Insider uses recent news from Salesforce to highlight the microaggressions that so many American workers face everyday. “In less than one more, two employees have publicly resigned from Salesforce, citing discrimination and a culture of...
SunShower has just released a new course based on Dr. Derald Wing Sue’s Work – Disarming Microaggressions
SunShower’s latest e-Learning course, Disarming Microaggressions, is based on Dr. Sue’s work. You can preview it by filling out the form here. When he reviewed the course, Dr. Sue wrote, “Joel Lesko and SunShower Learning have produced the gold standard of...
14 Microaggressions LGBTQ People Deal With All The Time
If I step on your toe, even if it was unintentional, it still hurts. This is a key point as we consider the challenge of microaggressions. Intention is only part of the story, and it’s not the most important part - impact is where we need to look. "When you’re an...
Dr. Sue’s article in Training Magazine!
Training Magazine has published Dr. Sue’s article, Disarming Workplace Microaggressions through Microinterventions. READ HERE. In the article, Dr. Sue defines microaggressions as the everyday slights, put-downs, insults and indignities that marginalized group members...
Remote Learning and Microaggressions
In these COVID-19 pandemic times, we are facing a new area of concern with regard to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion—the remote learning environment. With so many children out of their physical classrooms and engaging in classes via online learning, many parents are...
Verbal Jujitsu, Disarming and Other Tips for Dealing with Microaggressions
Here’s an excellent article in the LA Times that features Dr. Derald Wing Sue and his tactics for disarming and dismantling microaggressions. The article draws on the experiences of a US Olympic figure skater, a Vietnamese-American medical student and a Punjabi Sikh...