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Ever wondered why you find yourself making snap decisions about people, or trusting your instincts? This could be your unconscious bias coming into play. Unconscious bias is a bias that we’re unaware of, but which is influenced by everything around us, from cultural environment to personal experience. [1]
The ability to make such rapid judgment calls about situations or people can be very beneficial in many circumstances, for example if a problem arises which requires an immediate solution. However, being trapped within the confines of your own biases can be very harmful for personal development and development within your organization. Here are five simple steps you can take to keep your unconscious bias under control.
1. Acknowledge Your Bias
"We’d like to believe we are open-minded, fair and without bias, but research shows otherwise. This is an important, even if uncomfortable, realization for most of us." Dr. Mahzarin Banaji [2]
It’s important to be honest when it comes to accepting your own unconscious bias. To overcome the bias, you can’t be stubborn. Learn and understand how the bias affects you, and identify ways to improve it. Simply opening up the conversation on what unconscious bias is, and how it impacts your specific workplace, can be a good start. Another way for you to assess your unconscious bias is through the Implicit Association Test, [3] which was created by multiple psychologists across Harvard, Virginia and Washington universities. [4]
The test is able to measure the strength of links you make between concepts and ideals. For example, the test could highlight that your past experience of people with a particular accent has predisposed you to make subsequent judgements on everyone with a similar accent, which could be favorable or unfavorable.
2. Keep an Open Mind
Our biases can be created and adapted, in part, from other people’s prejudices, thoughts and beliefs. [5] So try not to be misled by others, and make a conscious effort to keep an open and objective mind when meeting people for the first time, instead of following stereotypical judgements. Additionally, you should be particularly careful in situations where you have incomplete information, or when you are rushed for time, as these external pressures can make you more dependent on your unconscious biases’ ability to make quick judgements to solve the issue or problem. [6]
3. Build Relationships
Diversity consultant Verna Myers suggests that in order to tackle our own biases, we should carry out an inventory to reflect what types of groups are under-represented or missing from our social and professional circles. This creates a starting point from which to move forward and focus on building inclusive relationships. [7] Actively making an effort to build relationships with your peers and other stakeholders will help shape fair impressions of them. Spending time with team members from different backgrounds and experience can also help break down any perception biases you have. [8]
4. Ask Yourself Questions
This can be an effective way to loosen the grip that any bias has on you. Unconscious bias can creep into many areas of your job role. You should use different types of questions, depending on the current situation.
If you are in the position of having to hire someone, for instance, questions like “When I say a candidate is not the right fit, what do I mean?” can help identify an unconscious bias you might not have been aware of. Or if you are involved in promotion decisions, consider: “How do I identify candidates for promotion?” This allows you to reflect on the personal criteria you set, and evaluate if it’s a fair set of criteria for candidates to meet.
Also consider who you choose to take to important meetings, or to take the lead on projects. Are they the same ‘go to’ people? [9] These types of questions can help you not only understand the bias but also help with the process of letting go of it, by making the bias more obvious and therefore more unappealing to you.
5. Practice
To counteract the impact of unconscious bias, new thought processes and mindsets need to be put into action. Keep trying to make a conscious and consistent effort to start conversations with, and listen to, a diverse range of individuals. Learning about their interests, what motivates them, their past experiences, and their strengths and weaknesses will allow you to value them for who they are and what they can bring to your team or the wider organization.
Try to get involved in as many different projects with as wide a cross-section of people as you can. And consider asking about unconscious bias training in your organization, to help you develop your awareness and skills. This will help you to consciously form your own independent opinions to carry forward in your future interactions.
References[1] Shire Professional Chartered Psychologists, Reducing Unconscious Bias Organizational Responses. Previously available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/666D7059-8516-4F1A-863F-7FE9ABD76ECC/0/Reducingunconsciousbiasorganisationalresponses.pdf ( accessed 19 July 2016).
[2] EY and RBC, Outsmarting Our Brains: Overcoming Hidden Biases to Harness Diversity’s True Potential. Available at: http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Outsmarting-our-brains/$FILE/EY-RBC-Overcoming-hidden-biaises-to-harness-diversity.pdf (accessed 7 February 2025).
[3] Project Implict, available
here (accessed 27 July 2023).
[4] Horace McCormick,
The Real Effects of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace (2015). Available
here (accessed 10 July 2016).
[5] Jo Faragher, ‘Overcoming Your Unconscious Bias’,
Personnel Today (2013). Available
here (accessed 27 July 2023).
[6] Shire Professional Chartered Psychologists, Reducing Unconscious Bias Organizational Responses. Previously available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/666D7059-8516-4F1A-863F-7FE9ABD76ECC/0/Reducingunconsciousbiasorganisationalresponses.pdf ( accessed 19 July 2016).
[7] Verna Myers, ‘How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them’,
TED (December 2014). Available
here (accessed 27 July 2023).
[8] Perception bias is a tendency to create stereotypes and assumptions around one particular group, which impacts the ability to make an objective opinion on a single individual within one of the stereotyped groups. Horace McCormick,
The Real Effects of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace (2015). Available
here (accessed 7 February 2025).
[9] EY and RBC,
Outsmarting Our Brains: Overcoming Hidden Biases to Harness Diversity’s True Potential. Available
here. (accessed 7 February 2025).
