Awareness of affinity bias can be an important step towards building a more inclusive team. Another way to define bias is to stipulate that an implicit association represents. Psychologists often define bias broadly such as ‘the negative evaluation of one group and its members relative to another’. Diversity is a goal worth fighting for, so don’t let your unconscious mind drive your decision making. The term ‘bias’ is typically used to refer to both implicit stereotypes and prejudices and raises serious concerns in healthcare. Research consistently shows that diverse teams perform better. Next time you have to choose between two equally qualified applicants for a position, instead of asking “who will fit in best?”, ask “who will make our team more diverse?” Criss Jami, Killosophy As part of a company wide program on. Choose to mentor a female, and/or someone of BAME background. Its not at all hard to understand a person its only hard to listen without bias. Make an effort to connect with a wider range of people, including minority groups. It can be easy to convince yourself that you are right, and everyone else needs to change, instead of recognising and taking steps to change your own perspective. (Cheryl Staats, Understanding Implicit Bias What Educators Should Know, American Educator 39, no.
Try to resist rationalising the results, with justifications such as “I just feel more at ease with x”, “we have more in common”, or “they just ‘get’ our work ethic here”. Implicit (unconscious) biases are attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. It occurs because your brain sees them as familiar and relatable, and we all want to be around people we can relate to. The harder you find it to admit to your biases, the more difficult it may be to actually change. Affinity bias refers to when you unconsciously prefer people who share qualities with you or someone you like. If the results of this self-analysis aren’t quite what you hoped for, it doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person, you just need to take action to counteract this unconscious bias. Look at the people you have chosen to connect with – people you have recruited, or informally mentor. What percentage are the same gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or social background? Is it truly representative of society, or does it perhaps reflect some affinity biases? Make a list of 10 of your most trusted colleagues or friends at work. Look around yourself – and try to measure this objectively. So what can we do to identify affinity bias and challenge it?
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