As an employment lawyer and frequent speaker on employment law and human resources issues (approximately 200 engagements annually), the topic I’m increasingly asked to talk about is implicit bias.
Thankfully, HRDs and senior leaders across the country are recognizing that not only do they have a responsibility to identify the existence of implicit bias, but that awareness of the problem on its own is not enough.
For want of a better phrase, most people really do seem to want to do better and be better. They want to minimize the impact such bias has on their decision-making processes.
They want to move beyond simply understanding it and towards implementing solutions for mitigating against its infection.
There still remains, however, a sizeable group of individuals who seem skeptical, if not cynical, about both the existence and impact of implicit bias.
This group contends they have no implicit bias and, accordingly, their decision-making cannot possibly be influenced by the notion.
Whether it’s through meeting these people in educational sessions, or just meeting them in their own world of work, these people’s refusal to try and comprehend implicit bias normally starts with something along the lines of them saying: “Well, back in my day…”
Hmm…
My wife, Jamie, and I recently saw the movie A Man Called Otto.
The main character, Otto Anderson, brilliantly portrayed by Tom Hanks, is the embodiment of the “back in my day” way of looking at the world.
He is mired...
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