Unconscious Bias Resources From a Gender Conforming, Cisgender, Heterosexual, Able Bodied, White Woman

In preparing for a conversation at a local company on my personal experience with unconscious bias, I wanted to provide the audience with resources that have helped shine light on not only my own biases, but have provided me with evidence and data to support why we should all be doing work in this area.

I am a gender conforming, cisgender, heterosexual, able bodied, white woman from the San Francisco Bay Area. I am married to a gender conforming, cisgender, heterosexual, able bodied, white man also from the San Francisco Bay Area. We are both college educated and come from parents who were (eventually or partially) college educated. My parents have been married for nearly 50 years as have my husband’s parents. They are all still alive. While I have an MBA, both of my degrees are from Cal State East Bay (and therefore lack university pedigree).

I realized while listening to a podcast recently that all of these things matter and affect my biases which I work on every single day as I strive to become a more aware human being, sensitive to the experiences of others.

I’ve broken the resources down by categories that make sense to me and I plan to add to them over time as I stumble upon more resources in this area. I also think Twitter is a a great place to hear what is top of mind for various segments of the population.

Understanding our biases is as much about being self-aware as it is about educating ourselves on the experiences of others who are not like us.

This is why I have made a concerted effort to purchase books by non-white, non-male authors, to listen to podcasts from those who are not like me (and are not white males), and to watch movies created by and starring more women, more people of color, more LGBTQ+. I want to give my attention to these creators (as well as my money) so that we can see more content created by those who are not just white males. Attention is money and money is power. Plus it’s more interesting.

Disclaimer: in putting together this list, I am sure I have screwed up and have shown some unintentional bias for which I apologize.

Do you want to know more about the female experience?

Annie Rogaski does an incredibly job with her podcast Unraveling Pink. In the fall 2018 season, she focused on how to have the difficult conversations about the issues women face in the workplace. She shared examples, provided in-depth research, and offered up weekly challenges for improvement. In the spring 2019 season, she paired up with her friend Sam and they discussed the man box and how men, women, and society suffer from the limitations placed on men in our society.

Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick is a well-researched book on how our healthcare system is not only harming, but killing women. Maya Dusenbery offers up some solutions at the end of her enlightening book that should prompt action on the part of all of us, not just women.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez is a must read for everyone. I thought I was aware of most of the ways in which our society is designed for men but I was wrong. In the first 85 pages of the book I realized just how much women are completely ignored in the design and operation of our cities, transit, and workplaces. I was totally overwhelmed by the amount of work to rectify the situation.

Article: How Gender Bias in Health Care Can be Deadly

Article: The Healthcare Gender Bias: Do Men Get Better Medical Treatment?

Article: When Doctors Downplay Women’s Health Concerns

Do you want to know more about the African American experience?

Jada Pinkett Smith hosts Red Table Talks with her mother Adrienne and her daughter Willow. There was one particular episode I saw on Facebook called The Racial Divide: Women of Color & White Women that was incredibly enlightening. My biggest takeaway on this was that it isn’t up to black people (or any other marginalized or repressed group of people) to educate white people on how to be less racist.

I now listen to It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders (podcast) twice a week and enjoy the refreshing conversations and perspectives. He often has people of color, women, and queer (LGBTQ+) folks on and openly discusses their experiences during the Tuesday episodes. It is clear that Sam, as a black, gay man from Texas, is intentional about the diversity he brings to the program and ends up discussing bias as natural part of the conversations.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD, was another enlightening read which I also found frustrating. I kept thinking, ‘but what can I do differently?’ and never really got a solid answer to my question. I got a history lesson reading this book and realized I need to be even more sensitive and intentionally inclusive.

Article: Why is Giving Birth in the US so Dangerous for Women of Color?

Article: Research Explores Racial Bias in Medical Care Across Nations

Article: How Training Doctors on Implicit Bias Could Save the Lives of Black Mothers

Article: Racial Bias in Medicine Leads to Worse Care for Minorities

Do you want to know more about the Queer experience?

I have a few books on my nightstand to read and will share once I do. My second born child is non-binary so we get an education on this daily and I have lesbian, gay, and trans friends who share their experiences in regular conversations.

One of the books on my nightstand is Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. The book was recommended to me by a trans woman I’d hoped to interview for my book. She was understandably skeptical about my motives and suggested I read this. I’ll share my thoughts once I’ve finished it.

Article: When Children Say They’re Trans

Article: What It’s Like Being Transgender in the Emergency Room

Article: Some Americans Are Denied Lifesaving Health Care Because They Are Transgender

Article: In Focus: Reducing Racial Disparities in Health Care by Confronting Racism

Am I missing any resources or categories? Feel free to comment and let me know what else I should be reading or listening to so I can share here, too.