Published on 01/08/2025
Research reveals that even those with strong egalitarian values who consider themselves unbiased may unconsciously behave in discriminatory ways. Studies on unconscious and implicit bias demonstrate that our intuition and snap judgments are often less rational than we believe.
UCLA provides a video series that usefully summarizes these concepts.
By acknowledging these hidden biases and designing systems that minimize their influence, we can improve fairness and help level the playing field in many areas of society, such as business and education. For instance, when we reduce how unconscious biases affect hiring decisions, we ensure more rational selection criteria—benefiting both businesses and society through more competitive hiring practices.
Use these NCWIT resources to learn techniques for identifying and interrupting bias:
Identifying Bias in Job Advertisements
Improving Everyday Experience in Technical Workplaces
Interrupting Bias in Academic Settings
Catalyst, a global non-profit organization that focuses on improving gender diversity in the workplace, describes 11 types of implicit bias and ways to address each one in this easy-to-read handout.
Joan C. Williams, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings Law, offers an overview of the research demonstrating bias, and shares some ways to interrupt bias in this 2020 TedTalk. She describes workplace bias, but the points she makes apply to many situations.
