4 steps for busting unconscious bias

>> Take a look at this image.

How many triangles do you see?

2, 6, maybe even 8?

Ready for the answer?

Well, actually, it's 0.

There are no triangles.

On average, our brains are working hard to try and

process 11 million pieces of information every second.

In reality, they consciously only capture

about 50 pieces per second and actually process just 7,

meaning we're constantly taking shortcuts to fill in the blanks.

Unconscious bias is an example of a shortcut our brain

takes to make snap judgments about people before we even realize we've done so.

Everyone has deep subconscious preferences

for people with similar characteristics to ourselves.

Things like our own background,

personal experiences, societal stereotypes,

and cultural context all influence the perception

we have of another person before we even get to know them.

These biases can actually have harmful effects.

They can prevent organizations from achieving diversity,

as well as create barriers in people's careers.

For example, research done by ActionAid and CARE International,

found that female surge staff,

that's the staff deployed in an emergency humanitarian response,

felt agencies automatically turn to males to take up leadership positions,

even if they're less qualified than their female counterparts.

So, how can you tackle the influence of unconscious bias?

Step 1, Become aware.

There are dozens of different types of bias.

Let's take a look at 3 common ones.

Like-me bias is when you have bias towards

someone who looks like you or has a similar background as you.

Confirmation bias is when we only listen to information that confirms our preconceptions, and

anchor bias is when your mind anchors to

the first piece of information that you were given about a subject.

Anchor bias can particularly affect salary negotiations.

And 1 example of this in the global development sector is the USAID biodata form.

>> Essentially, you have to write down your salary history for the last 3 years.

And so if you are sending your biodata to a recruiter,

the moment they open it and they look at your salary history,

it's essentially them anchoring to that information.

And from, kind of, that point on,

regardless of if it's a much higher position,

if it's a much riskier position,

if it's a much more technical position,

it almost doesn't matter because

the recruiter's mind has anchored to this information that you've provided to them.

>> Becoming aware of your unconscious bias can often be the hardest step.

The first thing to do is look back at when you've made decisions

at work that might have been influenced by your unconscious bias.

Think about the particular situation you were in when you made the decision

and how the decision-making could be improved if you were more aware of your bias.

Step 2, find your trigger.

Write a list of situations when you are most

likely to experience these unconscious biases.

Is it in meetings or before a particularly tough decision?

Does it happen over email,

or when you talk to a specific group or person?

Maybe it's when you're in certain moods,

like when you're hungry, stressed, or tired.

Step 3, slow down.

Next time you notice a trigger,

try giving yourself a minute to pause and

consider your response before instantly reacting.

>> So a great way to turn off that older part of your brain that makes

these automatic snap judgments is simply to take 3 deep breaths.

And you want to take full breaths, so breathe in,

then breathe out, and then count.

That helps you to calm down and turn off that fight or flight part of

your brain and get back to the more normal part of

your brain that can make a more rational decision.

>> Step 4, do one small thing differently.

You could ask a different person to kick off each meeting or after a meeting,

ask for feedback from someone who wasn't vocal and seriously consider their opinion.

Once you've implemented this action,

take note and give yourself some deserved recognition for tackling your unconscious bias.

Research shows that positive emotions help to cement things as habits.

Now you know what unconscious bias is,

maybe you can think of a time when it affected a decision you've made,

or perhaps you've experienced the consequences of someone else's bias.

Let us know your thoughts by commenting on the video,

and you can look back at all the content we produced for

the GlobalDevWomen campaign on devex.com.