Bias

Implicit bias refers to attitudes or stereotypes that adversely impact or influence our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious way, rendering them uncontrollable if unchecked and unmitigated. It is also defined by Vanderbilt University as “prejudice or unsupported judgments in favor of or against one thing, person, or group as compared to another, in a way that is usually considered unfair.”

 

Microaggressions, the insensitive statements, questions, or assumptions aimed at traditionally marginalized identity groups can happen to anyone, of any background, at any professional level to be unfair.

 

Privilege refers to any advantage that is “unearned, exclusive, and socially conferred”. This means workplaces are systems of advantage and disadvantage, which mean they are unequal, often in ways that are beyond the control of a class, ability, educational status, age, and sexual orientation. In other words, being a man, middle or upper class, able-bodied, highly educated, older and heterosexual will bring ease and advantage in many situations.

 

Unconscious bias may present itself in scenarios you’ve experienced or perpetrated as complicity, micro-aggression, passive aggressiveness, dark humor, sarcasm, or culturally insensitive statements.