How to fight against unconscious biases in the workplace
Diversity and inclusion are two important goals for many companies, but employers’ efforts toward it can be undermined by bias — conscious and unconscious — in the workplace.
Workplace bias takes many forms, such as microaggressions, and results in employees being unfairly excluded from experiences and opportunities.
“A lot of microaggressions happen at work, and that is how a lot of our unconscious biases play out in the workplace,” says Risha Grant, a diversity, inclusion and bias expert. “For people of color, when you read and hear about cases like Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor — unfortunately, our feelings don’t wait at home until we get back from work in the evening; we come to work with that.”
Grant, who has worked with and consulted companies like Macy’s, Samsung and Morgan Stanley, says that race, religion and politics are often taboo subjects in the workplace, but race relations are an important topic to address.
When employees are subject to offensive or hurtful comments at work, or when a colleague is showing a lack of empathy, it makes it very difficult for them to give their best and meet company goals, Grant says.
From becoming aware of our unconscious biases to addressing them, Grant shared steps employers and employees can take to eliminate bias in the workplace.
How can we become aware of our unconscious biases?
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Source: ebn by by Eveline Nedlund
Tags: diversity, inclusion, unconscious bias, workplace
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