The Power of Unconscious Bias
Almost 40% of the population in Mexico lives in poverty, making less than $6 dollars a day.
Ten percent of the nation’s wealthiest have more than 40% of the nation’s total income. The level of poverty and all its consequences are more acutely felt amongst the Indigenous population which makes up 20% of the 126 million people living in Mexico.
I was raised in Mexico, and domestic workers played an instrumental role in my childhood.
I grew up with conflicting and polarizing sentiments towards the people that worked in my home. On one side these people were at times my closest friends and loving caregivers, while at the same time the classist and racist society all around pushed me to detach myself physically and emotionally from them.
As you can imagine, I grew up with an internal conflict that looking back I am quite grateful for, since it helped me become more aware of my own biases.
Growing up like this is quite normal for a good number of Mexicans. If you have watched the movie Roma, you might have a better understanding of what I am talking about. The movie invites the spectator to question human bias while aiming to deconstruct racist and classist stigmas. It struck a deep personal chord within me because it exposed how so many of my close friends and family are blinded by unconscious bias and are not able to see the unjust and cruel reality of the life of domestic workers that the movie so clearly exposes.
As an interesting fact, this movie, in partnership with top organizations like those of Ashoka Fellows Ai Jen Poo in the United States and Marcelina Bautista in Mexico has played an important role in pushing for new legislation. This legislation aims to protect and formalize the labor conditions for more than 2 million domestic workers, who are mostly indigenous women. Even though some legislation has passed, we are still far away from a society that doesn’t discriminate against and exploit its domestic workers.
In 2012 I moved to the United States and not until I arrived did I realize that much of the picture I had of this country was not only incomplete but also in many ways just not true. For example, I was completely unaware of the persistent income inequality and poverty in the country. As of 2018, there were 38 million people living in poverty according to the United States Census.
I also became much more aware of the different versions of the history of this country. I remember learning in college the concept that history, all around the world, is usually told by the winners. Since then, I’ve always been interested in learning the many sides of the story. This is another big reason why I am such a fan of the movie Roma since it’s told from the point of view of a domestic worker, who is clearly not the winner of the story.
So it's the year 2020 and I am still here in the United States, and now beginning the process to become a naturalized citizen. This process has made me much more aware of my privilege and my unique experience as a Mexican immigrant. I recognize, more than ever before, the cruel reality of the majority of migrants that come to this country in a very different situation than mine. Many of them have been here much longer, paying taxes and contributing to all aspects of this society, yet most of them will never have the right to be treated the way that I have.
Yes, this is a great country. One that was built by migrants but also one whose main economy was built by enslaved peoples of Africa. It’s a country marked and designed from the very beginning by the rules and framework of white supremacy and all the inequities, and systemic racism that come with it.
In the journey to better understand this country’s history I bumped into a fascinating podcast named “Seeing White”. It opened up a universe of facts, authors, and resources that helped me form a more complete story of where I am and where might we go from here.
As I was learning all these different facts, I found myself bringing up these concepts with everyone I know, seriously everyone I know, including my work colleagues. I noticed that the excitement about all these new things I was learning was not necessarily coming across the way I wanted. I realized I was being naive and ignorant about my approach. Most of the people I was sharing this information with were not necessarily aware of the details of this part of the history of the country. I also noticed, that even though many were positively engaging in these conversations, many others were feeling uncomfortable and threatened by it.
This realization took my learning journey to a different level. It helped me understand that we all have a responsibility to dig deeper into our history, especially into those parts of history that have been kept more silent. Could I help bring these conversations without being so threatening? Thankfully, I soon learned that many people just don’t know what they don’t know, but once they do, there is a chance for change and evolution. This is the moment when the door to becoming vulnerable and questioning our own biases opens up.
As I learned more about the concept of whiteness and privilege I began to connect the dots between my own life experience and that of those who surround me. Understanding that yes, we are all one, but accepting that color blindness for example is dangerous and that race is very real when you understand it as a social construct, and as one of the most sophisticated tools to oppress, discriminate and exploit other people (Stamped from the Beginning).
Even though since the 90s we have had scientific proof that we are one species and share 99.9% of our DNA, you cannot deny the very real structural and persistent effects of white supremacy, power inequity, and colonialism. One just has to look at the devastated communities by mass incarceration (The New Jim Crow), the increasingly dramatic wealth gap (The Color of Wealth), or the persisting redlining practices (The Sum of Us), just to name a few.
One of the most challenging moments during this journey has been a conversation with my partner, who happens to be a white man. Together, we better understood the perspective of the white man who agrees with every inch of my values and who’s with me in the fight for justice and equity but who also has had to confront himself by understanding the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a white man, just by being born a white man.
This added another layer to the journey. The realization that we are all victims and at times perpetrators of this system of inequity. Most of us had no saying in the creation of our own privilege, most of us were born into it. What interests me is when we become aware of it, what will we do with it?
I confess I still have racist thoughts. I say this with shame. But I am taking full responsibility for my unconscious biases. Maybe the courage that helps me say this out loud comes from my lifelong fight with the status quo. I grew up, at least like many of us on this side of the world, constantly bombarded by an ideal of race and skin color, an ideal of beauty, intelligence, and of social class/status. This constant and many times subliminal bombarding of manufactured ideals makes it almost impossible for anyone to not be a racist or a victim and perpetrator of the colonialist, sexist, ableist and elitist system and culture we live in.
We become perpetrators towards ourselves too. I think about all the microaggressions I’ve committed against myself, to make myself more “beautiful” and feel more accepted. To understand what I am talking about you just have to look at the successful industry of products to dye your hair, make your skin lighter, lose weight, look younger, and basically become a Barbie.
I recognize we are in a much better situation than we were some years ago. But still, these aggressions and microaggressions persist in almost every corner of our society. And as you know, it does not just affect us women or non-white people/people of color. Think of the pervasive effects of toxic masculinity and the damage and suffering it has caused to boys and men all around the world, regardless of the color of their skin.
Becoming aware of these microaggressions towards myself has certainly not been easy but this awareness keeps pushing me to honor my privilege and take responsibility. For example, when I am in Mexico I become white, I am treated as a “white” person, with all its benefits. This comes with a set of responsibilities. How do I become a true ally to those with less privilege and less power? Remembering that a big part of our privilege was given to us just by where we were born, who are our parents, what was our health when we were born, and the color of our skin.
We, humans, dislike the idea of not being fully responsible for our own success. It’s threatening to know that much of what has made us successful was given to us without us having anything to do with it.
I think there has never been a better moment to take action, to turn our unconscious bias into proactive conversations where we challenge ourselves, question our beliefs, and honor our privilege. Becoming aware of our biases means becoming aware of how they inform our thoughts, feelings, and actions toward ourselves and others.
I have to confess I’ve become obsessed with this topic. Partly because I belong to an organization that wants to build a world where everyone is a changemaker. A world that works for everyone is a big aspiration, and now more than ever, after 11 years of being part of this organization, I couldn’t be more proud and excited to be part of the Ashoka community.
Today, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to become awakened. To mark this moment of history as the moment where we all step up to honor our privilege and change this system that does not work for the vast majority.
Ibram X Kendi invites us to become antiracists. In his words, an antiracist is: “One who is expressing the idea that racial groups are equals and none needs developing, and (one who) is supporting a policy that reduces racial inequity.”
I invite you all to become antiracists and more importantly, I invite you to work on becoming fully conscious of all your biases!
Dr. Tiffany Jana, a real expert on this topic, and whom I look up to for guidance in my learning journey, recently wrote an article about the importance of this historical moment to fight for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI). I confess that as soon as I read the article all I’ve been thinking of is the concept of JEDI champions! I dream of a generation of JEDI champions that decides to make this a truly just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive world.
The global pandemic we are experiencing has made this effort even more urgent!
And so I leave you with the words of James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced”
