1. Learning Objectives –
Unconscious bias based on
impermissible things such as race,
gender, age, religion, and disability
can influence many of the
employment decisions our managers
and supervisors make. This session
will describe unconscious bias, how it
works, and how it influences
personnel decisions. We will also
discuss strategies for combating
unconscious bias and minimizing its
influence in the workplace, such as,
how to fairly assess candidates,
developing appropriate and relevant
interview questions, and seeking out
colleagues who are willing to sit on
the interview panel and commit the
time to conducting interviews.
Price:
RODNEY KLEIN
PRESENTS: EEOC AND THE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS BACKGROUND
How it relates to PHR/SPHR exam –
The certification exam measures competencies based on knowledge and
comprehension of issues directly related to unconscious bias in hiring in the
functional area of employee and labor relations. HR personnel are responsible for
ensuring that employee and labor relations activities, such as, recruiting, selection
and hiring, are compliant with applicable federal laws and regulations. The
challenge for many lies in understanding the various types of bias in the hiring
process.
The various types of bias that could be embedded within an agency’s hiring
practices include:
1. Systemic bias. These are policies or practices that are part of the structures of
an organization, which create or perpetuate disadvantage for people from diverse
communities, backgrounds, and identities.
Examples include:  Advertising jobs through word-of-mouth.  Physical barriers
that prevent people with mobility issues from accessing the workplace.  Dress
codes that do not accommodate religious dress requirements.
2. Cultural bias. These are patterns of behavior or attitudes that are part of the
culture of the organization, which influence human resource decisions and create
or perpetuate disadvantage for certain groups of people.
Examples include:  An unwelcoming work environment that excludes or
undermines people from certain groups.  Assumptions that permeate the
organization about what certain groups of people can and cannot do, and which
occupations they are suited for.
•Free!
Members
•$39 Per
Person
Non-
Members
HOT SHRM-Waco
March 19th
, 2015
@ Insurors of Texas Building in the Community Conference Room

2. 3. Attitudinal bias. These are conscious or unconscious biases that are reflected in
the attitudes and behaviors of individuals involved in hiring.
Examples include:  A recruitment officer who removes the resumes of applicants
who she suspects to be gay or lesbian.  A manager who removes applications from
people with “foreign-sounding” names because he thinks they don’t speak English
well.  Not hiring candidates with disabilities because of discomfort interacting
with them.
Insurors of Texas is located Downtown Waco:
225 South 5th
Street
Waco, TX 76701
Rodney Klein is with the
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. He
graduated from the
University of Texas at San
Antonio, and was hired by
the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission as
an Investigator in 1992. Mr.
Klein investigated individual
complaints of employment
discrimination, along with
large class and systemic
cases. He worked as a
liaison between the EEOC
and various fair employment
practice agencies. He was
the San Antonio Office’s
Charge Receipt Supervisor,
responsible for receiving and
processing all incoming
discrimination complaints.
Currently, Mr. Klein is the
Dallas District’s Outreach
and Training Manager. He
speaks to audiences about
employment related matters,
the civil rights statutes, and
EEOC procedures, and he is
a featured speaker at his
office’s yearly training
seminar for employers.