Anti-bias Training — Why Should We Care?
As I made my way to the BART overseer, I looked down at my arm. I’d bled enough to soak the bit of shirt that I had pressed against it. I saw the attendee glance down at the skateboard I had in hand but thought nothing of it. I asked for a bandage and was surprised: “I’m not giving this to you just so you can hurt yourself again,” she said while staring pointedly at my skateboard. She denied me medical supplies because of my mode of transportation. This would be the first wound I have ever had to get infected. This is an example of why anti-bias training needs to be required.
Why is this kind of training so important? There are life and death consequences that can come as a result of implicit bias. Imagine a policeman trying to decide whether or not the suspect is a threat. Imagine a doctor deciding whether or not the patient’s health problem is due to their lifestyle or a real medical condition. Imagine an employer deciding whether or not to hire a candidate and having the decision come down to whether or not they can look past the biases they have built up around certain people. These kinds of situations happen all the time. According to The New York Times, rates for police stops for black and brown people in the 9th police district in Philadelphia are 200% the rates for white people, despite only making up 3% of the population.
Another benefit for companies employing anti-bias training is that it would ensure better qualified employees. Without any bias against certain demographics, the only factors that would go into promoting and hiring people would be their work ethic. Wouldn’t you rather have the most qualified person for the job? What if you lost out on a great hire just because that person was a person of color?
Now, some people might hear my argument and say, “Wait a minute, doesn’t anti-bias training not work?” Well actually, yes. Anti-bias training has been shown time and time again to not work. There’s a catch though: according to the Harvard Business Review, conventional training doesn’t work and even backfires when a company views it as a tick-box requirement. This can be further imposed when only 10% of anti-bias programs actually proposed solutions to the partakers. However, it’s been shown to be effective when companies have multiple and recurring training sessions, while also making sure employees are invested in the activity. In fact, non-traditional anti-bias training has been shown to increase the amount of females hired by almost 150%. Additionally, a survey conducted in participating facilities found that a higher number of employees felt seen by their peers when compared to non-participating facilities.
To sum up, anti-bias training is extremely important for companies, both for their employees and their customers. This type of training is crucial not only for promoting a fair and inclusive work environment, but also for potentially saving lives. By tackling implicit biases through anti-bias training, businesses can create a more equitable workplace where employees are judged based on their skills and not who they were born as. Furthermore, while traditional one-time training sessions may not be effective, ongoing and comprehensive anti-bias training programs can truly make a difference in forming a diverse community. So go out there: try bringing up anti-bias training in your workplace, or recommend it to your parents.
