What Is Unconscious Bias, and How Does It Affect the Workplace?

Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute For the Study of Race and Ethnicity outlined some of the key characteristics of unconscious bias that are as follows:

1. This Bias Is Pervasive

Every single person, no matter what position they hold, or what their background is, has a bias. It is an integral part of human nature, so the primary focus of creating a more inclusive work environment needs to be recognizing this fact and addressing it, rather than attempting to undo something that is ingrained in all of us.

2. It Can Become Conscious

Though they are distinct, unconscious and conscious biases can become linked when allowed to fester and become reinforced. When a person’s bias morphs into conscious decisions and actions towards excluding others based on race, religion, gender, or sexuality, then cancer has metastasized and has reached a critical mass. That’s why unconscious bias training needs to address the issue at its root.

3. It Doesn’t Always Align With Declared Beliefs

The ideals that individual claims to hold, and may genuinely believe in, do not always fit with an implicit bias that guides their actions. This is part of what makes implicit bias so insidious because we are so often bound to preconceived ideas that we are unaware affect our actions. The key to unconscious bias training in the workplace is to start with shining light on the existence of bias so that employees can begin to bridge the gap between what they consciously believe and what they unconsciously follow.

4. It Can Apply To An Individual’s Own Group

A person can be encumbered by an unconscious bias with prejudice towards individuals just like themselves. So while we assume that bias is automatically directed towards outside groups, research shows that it can be pointed inwards. That’s why for implicit bias training in the workplace to be effective, companies need to be aware that such biases can take multiple forms.

5. These Biases Are Malleable

The human brain is remarkably complex, which means that an unconscious bias or implicit prejudice can be unlearned and reconfigured to become an overall awareness of how these biases are an incumbrance in fostering inclusion and diversity in the workplace as well as the world at large. Unconscious bias training in the workplace can be successful because of this malleability and because with proper intervention and education, every single one of a company’s employees can be shown a new path forward in order to achieve the goal of truly inclusive work culture.

The Kirwan Institute points out a 2012 study of pediatricians that showed how as pro-white implicit bias increased, doctors were more likely to prescribe painkillers to their white patients than to patients that were black.

This study begs the question that if pediatricians received unconscious bias training from the time they were in medical school, would the results be different?

All the studies indicate that such training changes the individual and collective awareness as to the problem of implicit bias in the workplace, first with the crucial initial step of making them aware of the problem.