Unconscious Bias
Today! On tackling hard things week, we are going to look at our unconscious biases.
What is an unconscious bias?
“Unconscious bias refers to a bias that we are
unaware of, and which happens outside of our
control. It is a bias that happens automatically
and is triggered by our brain making quick
judgments and assessments of people and
situations, influenced by our background,
cultural environment and personal
experiences”
Today - your action is to test yourself on your unconscious (implicit) biases. It takes just a moment. And you can take many different tests here - with Harvard's Project Implicit.
I've taken the white/black test and was devastated to learn that this white girl failed. It's very embarrassing for sure. But I believe we are not going to make progress as a society unless we acknowledge our shortcomings and work to change them.
So what to do about your unconscious bias should you also fail? From everything I've read, knowing about it is the first step - because then you can consciously try to address your underlying bias. And studies are showing that unconscious bias can be changed by looking for common ground with the one you have an unconscious bias against, replacing negative images with positive ones, by working in teams together, and by basically getting to know each other beyond your unconscious bias judgement.
Some good articles are here and here. and here about overcoming biases.
Much love to all
See you tomorrow!
P.S. (Thanks everyone who followed the action for Monday (And Tuesday) regarding healthcare. The current bill has been tabled for now. Hopefully, the next bill that comes to pass gives more affordable healthcare to Americans, not less)
