“Bias is normal but not acceptable”

Jessica Nordell

Nordell’s book shared some concepts that I think are worth repeating. I certainly have been penalized for speaking out during my career, but imagine how much more difficult it is for marginalized folks. I loved her thought about seeing differences does not matter but instead, it’s how we react to differences in harmful ways that count. What comes to mind for you? How have you reacted negatively when someone has shared something different from what you believe or think?

Another idea that resonated for me in the book was the idea to “notice when stereotypes arise and actively replace with alternative images.” Wow! In other words, look for situational reasons for a person’s behavior rather than assuming it comes from inherent characteristics. This recently came to life in a conversation with a peer when they were relating a story of a recent interview they held with two candidates. The candidates qualifications were similar (one had more formal education, the other had more hands- on experience) and they ended up choosing the candidate with more education. I asked, “Why?” and then I followed up with, “Perhaps the second candidate did not have access to additional education”. My peer responded with “Funny you say that. When I called the candidate and let him know he was not chosen, he said that exact thing”. It is important to remember that marginalized folks often go to underfunded schools with less resources. It is not intentional on their part to get a subpar education…the system creates this inequity in education.

I love how Nordell distills bias to a choice. A choice that you can change by eliminating automatic thinking and instead use conscious deliberation. So, do I accept my automatic evaluation of people or do I try something new? Do I believe my first reaction or do I stop to look for further evidence?

Stop and scrutinize initial assumptions and envision an alternative explanation. Shift from simply reacting to observing your reaction. Frankly this action could work in many parts of life, not just bias. But, it certainly would be a big WIN if we could do it with our own bias.

Let me know your thoughts!