Appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that implicit bias is a non-factor in the workplace. Aside from employees seeking personal knowledge to eliminate their own misjudgments, companies will find that providing training for their employees will deem beneficial. Implicit bias is a form of prejudice that occurs when individuals make judgments at least partially influenced by gender, race, or other prohibited factors without realizing that they have done so, usually based on a societal stereotype of their own personal experiences (Segal 2017). Unfortunately, this means that people are unintentionally behaving in ways that are hurtful and insensitive towards those who are different than they are. Historically and in today’s society, we are aware that this also happens intentionally more times than none. Because of this, we owe it to ourselves and future generations to educate in order to eliminate the possibility of it happening inadvertently in the workplace.
America is saturated with oppression which is fueled by a lack of understanding. What’s missing is the much-needed conversation that will force people to address and deal with the pain and discomfort caused by these terms and concepts. Collectively, we must find a way to deal with these issues as they are seeping into the workforce. People need to recognize that their actions carry weight and that they will be held accountable. One must observe that though everyone possesses implicit biases in favor of their own in-group, one can still hold biases against their in-group. However, the implicit associations that have been formed can be gradually unlearned through de-biasing techniques such as employee training; the promotion is self-aware decision making, and the implementation of systemic safeguards as Segal outlines in this article (Segal 2017). When an organization decides to do any type of training, they are looking to benefit themselves just as much as their employees.
More so, to fully engage and benefit, employees should be brutally honest with themselves while keeping an open mind during the training sessions.
