What is unconscious bias?

- Look at any industry from tech to academia, medical to financial services, and you'll see that the number of women leaders at best hovers around 20%, and most industries are far below that number. There are so few S&P 500 companies run by women that the number fluctuates frequently. However, only 6% of companies are run by women as of 2022. And globally, women are underrepresented in positions of power. Understanding that gender isn't binary, but acknowledging that the data we have access to is, when the world population is basically an even split at 50.4% male and 49.6% percent female, that ratio should also be reflected in leadership in the workplace, but it isn't. So what is affecting the numbers? And what happens when we dig beyond gender? As of 2020, less than 3% of Fortune 500 board directors are openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It's likely that unconscious bias accounts for some of these gaps. So the question then is what is unconscious bias? Unconscious bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our views, our actions and our decision making ability. The scientific research in this area is compelling. It demonstrates how unconscious bias is automatically activated and affects how we think day to day. It also impacts hiring and evaluation processes and contributes to the lack of workforce diversity. The unconscious part of this concept indicates we are not actively aware that the root of those decisions are impacted by the stories, beliefs, and perceptions we may have of others. Bias implies that we are skewed in some way in our decision making. But unconscious biases are in fact, not a judgment. Everyone is biased. Each of us holds a set of perspectives that help us navigate a complex world efficiently. And the word by immediately make some people feel as though they're being attacked. So I'd like to put you at ease while watching this course. If you're here because you're curious or because you've been asked to watch, I'd like to ask you to be open to new ideas, sit back, take a deep breath and really think about the things we're going to discuss. If at any point in time I say something that evokes an emotional response in you, pause the video and dig into that emotion, investigate it, ask yourself why you're confused or frustrated, make a note of it, then come back and join me. At the end of the course, if you're still feeling that emotion, I've included sources, research, and content to aid in further development on this topic in the exercise files. My goal is to bring awareness to a subject that is misunderstood and in some cases unnecessarily overcomplicated. So I'm going to attempt to simplify unconscious bias. And my hope is that you'll have a better understanding of the concept and some tools for how to think and behave differently.