When you meet someone, what are some of your initial assumptions? Do these assumptions impact the way you interact with them? Our brains naturally place people into larger groups or categories. These assumptions are helpful to some, yet harmful to others. In business, subtle biases can become major roadblocks to fair and inclusive diversity practices. We gravitate toward certain types of people, or simply forget to acknowledge others. As women of color, these biases create challenges that may include racial and gender stereotypes that cause our contributions to be ignored or diminished. How do we become examples of fair and inclusive practices? How do we challenge our culture to move toward greater levels of awareness? Studies have shown that men become less bias toward women when they discuss needs and are forced to challenge assumptions. This seminar will challenge your personal biases and address ways to engage in conversations that test faulty thinking and increase cultural awareness. At the end of this seminar, participants will be able to: a. Define unconscious and subtle bias. b. Identify personal biases and behaviors that support faulty cultural norms. c. Explore specific ways that race and gender impact achievement. d. Discuss communication strategies to encourage productive conversations. e. Examine behaviors and cultural practices that create diversity challenges.

1. UNCONSCIOUS BIAS:
DO RACE AND
GENDER REALLY
MATTER?
Moderator: Amanda Vallejo
Presenter: Howard M. Jenkins
Panelist: Anna Cunningham
Jessica Adams

2. Unconscious Bias: Do Race and Gender Really Matter?
What is Unconscious Bias
– Character traits or perceptions we are unaware of, that happens outside of
our control.
• Influenced by personal experience, cultural environment and background
• Life experiences / observations triggers our brain to make quick judgement,
assessment of people and situations
• Behaviors happens automatically without even realizing
– First step is recognizing that each individual has bias as a result of life
experiences
• Research indicates bias tendencies are captured in two ways…
o Categorize people and things using easily observed criteria such as age, weight,
skin color, and gender.
o Classify people according to educational level, disability, sexuality, accent, social
status, and job title

3. Unconscious Bias: Do Race and Gender Really Matter?
Unconscious bias influences behaviors
– Unconscious bias is a learned/observed behavior
• Biases develop at an early age
o Emerge during middle childhood and appear to develop across childhood
• Unconscious biases have real world effects on behavior
– Strategies to address unconscious bias
• Promoting self awareness
o Recognizing one’s biases is the first step.
o Identifying your bias does not mean surrendering part of yourself or betraying your cultural. It
indicates your desire to change
• Understand the nature of bias
o Reluctance to overcome bias prevents personal growth
• Provided opportunities to have discussions with others
o Sharing biases can help others feel more secure about exploring their own biases. It’s important to
have these conversation in a safe space where individuals are open to alternative perspectives
and view points
• Facilitate discussions and training sessions
o Promoting bias literacy utilizing concepts and techniques have proven effective in minimizing bias
and reduces the impact of bias in the workplace.

4. Unconscious Bias: Do Race and Gender Really Matter?
Creating a conscious inclusive environment
– Starts with enhancing interview practices
• Establish/develop diverse gender and cultural interview teams
• Teams are to reflect attributes and characteristics that promotes Inclusiveness
• Structure interviews with consistent questions
– Change starts with each individual
• The most effective (and hardest) way to address personal bias is
meet it face to face.
• Check your own feelings about subjects, and preferences regularly.
This allows the opportunity to build practices and skills in letting go bias as well as forces
introspection for self assessment
– Actions in creating a conscious inclusive work environment
• Self awareness / conscious
• Be intentional and committed to change
• Consider the situation, individual, environment
• Be an agent of change regarding perceptions and relationships
• Use context to explain situation when possible
• Improve processes, policies and procedures

5. Unconscious Bias: Do Race and Gender Really Matter?
Influence of race and gender matter
– Racial stereotypes exist
• In the workplace despite reduction in blatant forms of discrimination
women continue to experience discrimination, such as having their
input in groups ignored and having performance devalued
o Professional science organizations indicate that females are seldom awarded
for their accomplishments
o Nature Journal of Science 2006 highlights unless forced to take sexual and racial bias into account
recognition is given to others in their own image
 Statistics indicate that females in the science receive only 3.2% recognition
• Sports is another area that highlights many stereotypes such as Black men and women
basketball players tend to be stereotyped as naturally athletic, quicker, stronger etc.;
whereas White players are portrayed in a more positive character traits and as
intellectual
– Gender equality
• Equality is the goal; however unconscious bias exist in the American Workplace.
• Women have made inroads in Corporate America, but the struggle to climb to the
corporate world’s highest ranks still remains difficult
• Four out of 10 surveyed in the January 2015 Pew Study indicates there are double
standards for women seeking the highest levels of leadership in politics or business

6. Unconscious Bias: Do Race and Gender Really Matter?
Be the agent of change
– Let’s be Honest
• Whether one believes or not, we all have unconscious biases. However the
term unconscious bias has a negative connotation with words such as
discrimination , prejudice and stereotype
• Biases whether conscious or unconscious are shaped by our experience,
culture and lifestyles, but keep in mind it also affects our decision making.
• This seminar is not intended to be used as playing the “blame game”; however
we cannot ignore that unconscious bias exist
• Each of us are tasked to make a difference. Those gathered here at BEYA are
leaders as a result of being recognized by your respectively companies.
Therefore this seminar is a call to action to bring awareness to bias so it does
not impede a company’s organizational goals
• As your career grows with increased responsibilities , it is imperative that we as
individuals are to be part of the solution in creating a balanced, diverse and
inclusive workplace
• Always keep in mind, “We can do better when we know better”

7. Unconscious Bias: Do Race and Gender Really Matter?
PANEL DISCUSSION / QUESTION &
ANSWER