Implicit Bias Test
I chose to take the gender and career IAT as I believe strongly in the eradication of the lingering societal belief that females should be the primary caregiver and that men should be the primary breadwinner. Thankfully, this belief has become less normalized in the society I have grown up in, however, like the majority of societal issues, there is still a lot of work to be done. Because of the changing society in which I grew up in I believed I would be a strong candidate for scoring against the implicit bias. When I read the instructions of the test I thought to myself, I will have little issue grouping the “family” words and the “career” with either “male” or “female.” However, I was unfortunately wrong, and embarrassed. During part 4 of the test the prompt was to press the letter “E” on the keyboard for both female names or career words that appeared on the screen. In contrast, I was to press the letter “I” on the keyboard for both male names as well as the family words. I found myself taking more time to press either the “E” or the “I” keys during this portion of the test. My natural instinct was to associate the family words with the female names, and the career words with the male names. I clicked on the wrong key a total of four times during this portion of the test, and was immediately humbled.
I thought being a young female who grew up in a changing society would benefit my implicit bias, however, this test showed me that even though I grew up in a more accepting and modern society, the decades that came before me still had an impact on my development and implicit bias of the world. Additionally, I should have thought about the household environment in which I grew up in, before assuming I would “outsmart” the test. I grew up in a home where my father was the sole breadwinner and my mother was the primary caregiver. I had never thought much about my family’s dynamic, my father’s long work hours, never took away from him prioritizing my siblings and I. Something that I am forever grateful for. However, after taking this test I cannot help but think, did seeing my dad in a suit, and carrying a briefcase everyday have an impact on my implicit bias related to gender and career. I now cannot help but think how could it not.
These results have allowed me to recognize my unconscious bias. No matter how strongly I wish for it not to be there, I have to address it head on and take accountability for it. I believe that parts of this class have the ability to expose me to my unconscious bias, help me tackle it and understand what triggers it. For example, when dealing with mental health organizations across the world, my unconscious bias may assume that we should bring initiatives that have worked in the western world to them. However, not every country has the same culture and something that works in America may not work in a country that has different views when it comes to mental health.
I think that the best way to avoid implicit bias from coming into play, is asking questions. I need to admit when I am unsure about something, or want a different perspective on a situation I have no experience with. This way I am not only taking accountability for my implicit bias and lack of knowledge, but I am also learning and educating myself on different points of view that may help to slowly quiet that unconscious bias. I am not sure if it is possible to completely silence my implicit biases, but I will work hard to do so, and taking this test and discussing my results is a step in the right direction.
