our areas of expertise
Unconscious Bias
What is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious bias refers to the mental shortcuts that the unconscious brain takes in decision-making. In the context of DEI, it refers to how we treat people based on our unconsciously held beliefs about their cultural identity characteristics, such as race/ethnoculture, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and more.
The Impact of Unconscious Bias on Organizations
Unconscious bias permeates both talent management practices and client/customer experiences, which is why it is critical that organizations work to address it. At bci, we focus on teaching practical frameworks for interrupting bias as part of our globally renowned unconscious bias training and advisory services.
Why Choose bci for Your Unconscious Bias Training
Our unconscious bias training is the backbone of our work at bci. We have now delivered thousands of keynotes and workshops touching on how to interrupt unconscious biases in the workplace. Based on our expertise, we are able to quickly assess your teams’ knowledge base and tailor our training to meet your organization’s needs. We focus on providing leaders and their teams with a shared language and understanding of how bias has a profound impact in work environments. In our sessions, we focus on:
Science and Data
Highlighting the neuroscience of bias, drawing on leading scientific research and data in this area
Naming Specific Biases
Identifying specific forms and examples of bias that manifest within organizations and team interactions
The Impact of Bias
Understanding how bias has an adverse effect on professionals from equity-seeking communities
Practical Strategies
Providing practical, concrete tools and strategies for addressing biases at the individual and organizational level
We Work With Organizations to Interrupt Biases in Talent Management
Inclusive talent management is critical for creating an organizational culture that supports the advancement of professionals from equity-seeking communities, including professionals of color, women, LGBTQ+ professionals, and professionals from other communities.
We apply our expertise from working with hundreds of organizations in this space and current best practices to help organizations identify and interrupt biases, apply a DEI and anti-oppression lens across key talent management areas, including recruitment, work allocation, mentorship and sponsorship, performance management, and promotions.
Did You Know?
We are hardwired to treat some people better than others.
If you have a brain, you will engage in bias!
Across our interactions, we unconsciously sort people into ‘us’ and ‘them’ or ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’. We then unconsciously gravitate towards those who we view as ‘us’ and tend to avoid those who we view as ‘them’.
The key for interrupting our unconscious biases is to recognize you’re doing this, be compassionate with yourself because this is how the brain works, leverage strategies to identify what your biases are, and then work to replace stereotypes with positive truths about others.
All of bci’s unconscious bias training can be offered in a webinar or virtual workshop format.
Unconscious Bias Resources
Interested in building a more inclusive workplace?
Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn how we can help, or subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest DEI insights in your inbox every month.
