The Problem with Unconscious Bias Training
Unconscious bias training is the cornerstone of the DEI industry, but the effectiveness of these trainings remains inconclusive.
Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash
How Unconscious Bias Training may Reproduce Harm
A few years ago, my colleagues and I completed a mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion training series for our job. After the training, we were directed to gather with our teammates and our manager to discuss our thoughts, takeaways, and reflections from the training program.
Many of my white colleagues co-opted the conversation to discuss how they felt judged and ostracized in the work environment. It was clear that had conflated their individual experiences of rejection and interpersonal tension in the workplace with systemic discrimination and harm. During our team debrief, there was little space or invitation for those who were marginalized along the axis of gender, ability status, race, sexuality, and more to share their experiences. At one moment, I spoke up about anti-Blackness in the work environment, but my colleagues and manager did not quite know how to respond to me. As a result, our DEI group chat reproduced my experience of marginalization and isolation.
As a Black woman (and the only Black person on my team), this conversation proved to be shallow and frustrating. However, though I found my colleagues’ reflections to be unhelpful, I did not blame them for focusing the conversation on their experiences as dominant group members. Instead, I reflected upon the unconscious bias training we received and the ways in which it failed to support my dominant group colleagues and teammates in deepening their understanding of systems of power and privilege. And further, the way it failed to properly and expressly advocate for the inclusion and well-being of historically disenfranchised employees.
When DEI workshops fail to appropriately and explicitly discuss power and privilege, systematic inequality, and discrimination, they function to minimize and obfuscate how subjugation and marginalization show up in the workplace.
I do not believe my colleagues’ reflections were a product of their malicious intent to center whiteness but instead derived from genuine confusion regarding how discrimination and subjugation manifest in the workplace.
We inadvertently center whiteness when we do not explicitly center BIPOC communities and their needs.
Implicit Bias Training Gaps
As Scientific America highlights, evidence that implicit/unconscious bias training is effective remains inconclusive at best. Harvard Business Review reveals that a comprehensive review of these programs suggests that current approaches to unconscious bias training may be ineffective.
Below are a few reasons implicit bias/unconscious bias training may reproduce harm for disenfranchised groups:
Minimization of Harm: This form of training often fails to address the emotional and physical impact of bias and discrimination in the workplace. When organizations are so focused on framing bias as unconscious, they may fail to properly discuss the painful impact of discrimination.
Over-emphasis on Dominant Groups: Implicit bias training may unintentionally prioritize the experiences and perspectives of dominant groups in society. Particularly, it prioritizes protecting dominant groups and their sense of guilt and shame in lieu of discussing the importance of protecting and caring for disenfranchised communities. This over-emphasis can lead to a failure to address the specific challenges and harm faced by marginalized or underrepresented groups. It may inadvertently reinforce the status quo and maintain existing power dynamics.
Negation of Institutional and Systemic Racism: Implicit bias training sometimes falls short of addressing the complex issue of institutional and systemic racism. By primarily focusing on individual bias, it may not adequately equip participants with the tools to recognize and challenge systemic injustices. This can perpetuate the belief that racism is solely a matter of individual prejudice, rather than deeply embedded in societal structures.
Lack of Change Management Support: Unconscious bias training may lack sufficient change management support within organizations. Without a clear plan for integrating the lessons from training into day-to-day practices and policies, it becomes challenging to minimize harm effectively. This lack of follow-through can result in a gap between awareness and action, ultimately failing to reduce harm in the long term.
Lack of Space for Truth Telling: Unconscious bias training tends to use general language regarding bias and exclusion instead of specific language such as ableism, sexism, racism, ageism, and more. This lack of specificity and reticence to name and address harm makes it difficult for marginalized employees to honestly share their experiences.
It's important to note that while unconscious bias training can be a valuable tool, it is not a standalone solution. To be effective in minimizing harm, it should be part of a larger strategy that includes ongoing support, accountability measures, and structural changes aimed at addressing systemic biases and inequalities. Additionally, the design and delivery of the training must be evidence-based and culturally sensitive to maximize its impact.
I believe that by altering our approach to unconscious bias in order to more specifically address power and privilege at work, we can create more innovative and effective training models for fostering anti-racism, inclusion, and well-being.
Thanks so much for reading Let’s Work Better Together. Ciarra Jones Consulting. LLC is currently taking on new clients for November and the beginning of December and I’d love to work with you and your organization.
Here’s what I am up to this month!
I’ll be hanging out with Reckon News throughout October/November as their Religion, Faith, and Politics writer for their religious deconstruction newsletter! Subscribe to Faith Matters newsletter, here
Check out my interview/profile with Reckon News about my work in DEI and Theology, here.
I’ve added a religious deconstruction section to my newsletter called “Sacred Dissent".” You can follow this section of my newsletter from your “account settings.” Thank you!