Transcript Is Unconscious bias affecting efforts to achieve

Challenging thinking and making a
difference…
Dawn Lewinson
Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI)
Is unconscious bias affecting efforts to
achieve greater diversity?
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The business case (rewards and benefits) of UB;
How Unconscious bias plays out in aspects of the
employment life cycle such as recruitment,
performance management and networking via
biases such as affinity and comparison bias;
The Implications for individuals and organisations
and;
Strategies that can help reduce bias
Rewards and benefits
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Attracting and recruiting
Developing
Retaining
Winning new business
Client /customer relationships
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Brand reputation
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A bat and ball cost £1.10
The bat costs one pound more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
7 things you need to know about bias
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Our brains use two ‘thinking’ systems
that operate simultaneously
Our brains are designed to categorise
things and people
Our brains have evolved to both look
for and exaggerate differences
Biases are learned through culture
and experiences; they are contextual
Bias is driven by our emotions and our
intuition
Being bias is part of who we are
Mind bugs leads us to jump to
conclusions
Explicit vs Implicit Social Bias
(Abrams & Houston 2006) Jones, P 2005 Implicitly 3000
Affinity bias
Individuals and groups essentially gravitate to people like
them…
Commonality /
Likeability
Trust
Competence
1. Value the opinions of
people like us
2. Work allocation
3. Feedback
4. Providing informal
support; coaching,
mentoring and
sponsorship
5. Performance
improvements
A bat and ball cost £1.10
The bat costs one pound more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
The impact of bias on
performance management
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Criteria can be open to subjective interpretation
Factors other than performance may be called into play and
influence managers’ decisions: Likeability and Trust
Staff member A
 Limited time in reviewing
performance
 Helpful leading questions
 Helpful ideas
 Suggesting next move
 Use of the word ‘we’
Staff member B
 Very detailed review of past
performance
 Little time spent on future
development / career
aspirations
 Has to defend record
 Conversation is tougher
The role of social networks in
promoting affinity bias at work
Cultural likeness creates trust and
connectivity
Facilitates:
A. Information sharing
B. Increased visibility of one’s ‘ingroup’
C. Greater influence in decisionmaking
D. Advice & sponsorship
E. A continuous cycle of
information sharing /
connecting with people ‘like us’
Exploring bias within your
organisational systems and processes
Reflecting on your own organisations:
1. What types of biases are evident?
2. Where are your key organisational risk points?
3. What is the impact?
Think about
Client engagement
Recruitment & Selection
Promotion and pipeline
Culture
Work allocation
Leadership style and
behaviour
Team Relations
Performance management
Information sharing
10 Bias control tips
1. Learn to question your first impressions
2. Be curious: actively seek out and value different
perspectives and ideas
3. Treat people as individuals: get to know them on multiple
levels
4. Expose you and your teams to positive role models
5. Widen your social network at work (and at home)
6. Reduce the effects of affinity bias through mindful work
allocation, feedback and sponsorship
7. Challenge negative team assumptions and cultural
stereotypes
8. Actively sponsor someone different from you
9. Develop strategies for managing your pressure points
10. Don’t get anxious about difference
Rewards and benefits
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Attracting and recruiting
Developing
Retaining
Winning new business
Client /customer relationships
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Brand reputation
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Strategies in the pipeline 2015/16
NHS Equality and Diversity Council pledged
commitment to the following (subject to
consultation):
 Workforce race equality standard – orgs must
demonstrate progress against a number of
indicators including BME board representation
 Making the Equality Delivery system (EDS2)
mandatory – toolkit to help orgs improve services
for their communities and better working
environments
 Regulators will be the CQC
Contact:
[email protected]