Unconscious bias

Unconscious bias refers to the deep-seated prejudices we all absorb due to living in deeply unequal societies.

Unconscious bias happens when our brains make incredibly quick judgements and assessments of people and situations without us realising. Our biases are influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences. We may not even be aware of these views and opinions, or be aware of their full impact and implications. Throughout our lives, we develop biases towards gender, sexuality, age, race, disability, religion, education and social classes (to name a few).

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• Explain what unconscious bias is and name different ways it may manifest
• Investigate your own unconscious biases
• Describe different strategies to reduce the effects of unconscious bias at work