The Implicit Escape

By Natalie S. Burke

The past 15 months have generated an avalanche of interest in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within companies that previously sat idle on issues of racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, ageism, and other forms of institutional and societal oppression. That interest has taken many forms but the one that has been most prevalent is workforce training focused on implicit bias — the safest bet in town.

The Perception Institute describes implicit bias as, “when we have attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge.” Those attitudes and stereotypes can be positive or negative and they unconsciously affect our decisions, behaviors, and actions which makes them difficult to notice and even more difficult to manage or control.

All human beings have implicit bias. That is because our brains create shortcuts and seek patterns to help us quickly understand information, situations, and people. As we navigate a world overloaded by media, cultural influences, and communication; biases form and take root in our thought processes, often without our knowledge. This becomes important when those biases escape our unconscious mind and become a part of how we use our power — the ability to define reality for ourselves and for others. That is when our implicit biases have the potential to do harm through what we decide, say, and do — sometimes against or in favor of other people.

As organizations have decided to take action on EDI, implicit bias training has become the tool of choice. In fact, at CommonHealth ACTION we have been inundated with requests for implicit bias training from employers and HR departments, at times with little to no interest in truly working on the full spectrum of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Why?

When it comes to racist, sexist, and heterosexist acts in the workplace, implicit bias has become the rationale (read: scapegoat) for why “good people” do bad things. It has provided an excuse to absolve people when they engage in microaggressions — subtle behaviors and comments that put bias against oppressed identities on full display — because the transgressor wasn’t conscious of what they were doing and in fact it was out of their control. The problem with this approach is that the focus is entirely on the intentions of the person with implicit bias, or the lack of intent is probably more accurate. It does nothing to acknowledge the impact on the person who is on the receiving end of their bias.

Once a person becomes aware of their implicit bias, it becomes explicit bias. In fact, some people’s biases have always been explicit. The key is that explicit biases are intentional, people are conscious of them, and they are controllable as part of their conscious mind. That makes the explicitly biased person accountable for how other people experience their biases and the subsequent impacts in the workplace.

This takes us to one of the biggest decisions organizations need to make right now if they are serious about EDI. Should they take the safe route where “no one is to blame” for the impact of their bias (because it was unconscious)? Or should organizations also take the road less travelled — the one that requires investing in uncomfortable exploration of explicit bias — the one that holds people accountable for the impacts of their prejudicial beliefs and behaviors?

The truth is that implicit bias training is a 1995 approach that won’t work on 2021 inequities; at least not without addressing the more virulent forms of prejudice that are alive and well in organizations. Instead, it is merely a baby step on a lengthy and at times risky journey towards organizational equity, diversity, and inclusion. It’s time to get uncomfortable.

Are you ready to do more than implicit bias training and tests? Check out CommonHealth ACTION’s Foundations of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Online Course. That’s the badge I got when I completed the course. Yes, I had to do the coursework too!

Ready to learn more about what “privilege” is and what it’s not? Read: https://medium.com/@natalie4health/why-i-wont-give-you-ten-tips-to-manage-your-privilege-9ba16cf31671

Want help finding the right words to talk about equity? Take a few minutes to read: https://medium.com/@natalie4health/how-to-fix-a-broken-tongue-cade93816add