Implicit Bias and Microaggressions Workshop

Notes from workshop

• What is bias?

  • Preference for one thing over another, which can be either good or bad

  • Implicit/Unconscious bias: beliefs we hold that reside outside awareness

  • Microaggressions are often the output of implicit bias

  • Sue, 2010 and Nadal, 2011

• Where does bias come from?

  • Cycle of socialization- Bobbie Harro (p. 27-34)

• Identifying implicit bias

  • Introspection: educate yourself, seek out resources to identify your own prejudices

  • Mindfulness: practice self-awareness, interrogate how power and privilege shape ideas, preferences, and assumptions, journal, conversation, learning community

  • Perspective-taking: consider the perspective of others that don’t share your identity, suspend judgment, ask open-ended questions, seek and practice empathy, ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes’

• Systemic impact of implicit biases

  • Health disparities

  • Gender imbalance in politics

  • Hiring biases

  • Lack of diversification in certain fields

• Intent, impact, and harm

Resources

• https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html 

• Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude M. Steele

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

• Faculty Workshop on Antiracism and Microaggressions slides: https://liberalarts.mercer.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/10/Final-CLAS-Microaggression-Workshop.pdf

• Recognizing and Responding to Microaggressions Workshop slides: https://www.nylpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WSR_102-Microaggressions-workshop.pdf