Apr 2021: Exploring Bias
Definitions:
April's Lunch & Learn will use words and phrases that can have multiple meanings or definitions. The following words/phrases are being used with the definitions below:
- Bias: When we unconsciously hold attitudes or beliefs towards others, or associate stereotypes or generalizations based on limited knowledge or experiences, that lead us to have a preference or aversion to a person or group of people.
- Micro-aggressions: Everyday, subtle, intentional, and/or unintentional interactions or behaviors that communicate a bias or stereotype about a person’s held identity.
Scenarios to Explore:
The following scenarios were created to highlight examples of micro-aggressions and bias experienced in the workplace. Take some time to read through each scenario and reflect on the questions.
Scenario #1:
I’m a person of color. A few years ago when I first started working with the Section, I made 2 or 3 proposals for projects that interested me and I thought would benefit our work. My supervisor, who happened to be white, asked, “This is great. Did you come up with this idea on your own, or did you find it somewhere else?” I was mortified that my supervisor didn’t think I was capable of coming up with these ideas on my own. After I made a few more proposals and was turned down repeatedly by my supervisor, I stopped trying and now just do what I need to do to complete my tasks. In my annual review, my supervisor has continued to suggest that I show more initiative, but I’ve learned that it’s better to keep a low profile.
Scenario #2:
Your department is homogeneous. Your manager is assembling a team for a large upcoming project. At a large department meeting, your manager announces its members and delegates roles. When your manager announces your name, they explain that you would contribute diversity to the group.
Scenario #3:
I’m a person of color. When I met with my new manager and went over my current projects, they were impressed with how much I had accomplished over the years. The new supervisor asked if leadership had ever suggested that I apply for other jobs or if I had been offered a salary raise, and they were surprised to learn that that hadn’t happened. I explained that I had been told that Section didn’t have enough money to permit raises and that I would need to leave the Section, work somewhere else and then come back. The new manager checked into this and learned that the staff who had been promoted or given raises were not people of color.
Scenario #4:
I have a graduate degree and was thrilled to get a job with DSHS in the TB/HIV/STD Section. However, within a couple of months, I noticed that some white colleagues, regardless of title, would speak condescendingly to me in meetings, often translating, clarifying, or explaining what I had said. When I observed that the same behavior didn’t happen with my white colleagues, I realized the sad truth that my opinions were probably less valued than theirs.
Questions to Consider:
Resources:
Harvard Project Implicit
Harvard's Project Implicit allows individuals to take tests measuring possible bias in 15 different areas. These tests are a starting point for identifying possible biases and beginning to explore what this means on a personal level.
Tests to Consider:
- Sexuality IAT
- Race IAT
- Transgender IAT
- Skin-tone IAT
Facing Race: Ghost Map - Systems and Identity Change at the Intersection of Public Health Science and Government
After a 2016 qualitative analysis and report of staff of color’s experiences of racial micro-aggressions within the workplace, the Bureau of Communicable Disease (BCD) at the New York City Health Department and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) developed a project to provide staff with the opportunity to build awareness of how racism and other systems of oppression operate within institutions and to build skills to address these systems in the workplace. This project is part of a larger agency-wide internal reform initiative called Race to Justice, which aims to eliminate health inequities created by structural oppression and racism in New York City. Seven committees were formed to promote engagement at different levels and areas of work conducted by BCD.
This participant packet outlines the process and activities.
Examples of Racial Micro-aggressions:
The attached document provides various themes, statements, and overall messages of common micro-aggressions experienced by people of color.