Unconscious Bias Training That Works

Increasing awareness isn’t enough. Teach people to manage their biases, change their behavior, and track their progress.

by

Francesca Gino

and

Katherine Coffman

by

Francesca Gino

and

Katherine Coffman

From the Magazine (September–October 2021) · Long read

Mark Harris; woman: oonal/Getty Images

Summary.

To become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, many companies have turned to unconscious bias (UB) training. By raising awareness of the mental shortcuts that lead to snap judgments—often based on race and gender—about people’s talents or character, it strives to make hiring and promotion fairer and improve interactions with customers and among colleagues. But most UB training is ineffective, research shows. The problem is, increasing awareness is not enough—and can even backfire—because sending the message that bias is involuntary and widespread may make it seem unavoidable.

UB training that gets results, in contrast, teaches attendees to manage their biases, practice new behaviors, and track their progress. It gives them information that contradicts stereotypes and allows them to connect with colleagues whose experiences are different from theirs. And it’s not a onetime session; it entails a longer journey and structural organizational changes.

In this article the authors describe how rigorous UB programs at Microsoft, Starbucks, and other organizations help employees overcome denial and act on their awareness, develop the empathy that combats bias, diversify their networks, and commit to improvement.

Idea in Brief

The Problem

Conventional training to combat unconscious bias and make the workplace more diverse, equitable, and inclusive isn’t working.

The Cause

This training aims to raise employees’ awareness of biases based on race or gender. But by also sending the message that such biases are involuntary and widespread, it can make people feel that they’re unavoidable.

The Solution

Companies must go beyond raising awareness and teach people to manage biases and change behavior. Firms should also collect data on diversity, employees’ perceptions, and training effectiveness; introduce behavioral “nudges”; and rethink policies.

Across the globe, in response to public outcry over racist incidents in the workplace and mounting evidence of the cost of employees’ feeling excluded, leaders are striving to make their companies more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Unconscious bias training has played a major role in their efforts. UB training seeks to raise awareness of the mental shortcuts that lead to snap judgments—often based on race and gender—about people’s talents or character. Its goal is to reduce bias in attitudes and behaviors at work, from hiring and promotion decisions to interactions with customers and colleagues.

A version of this article appeared in the September–October 2021 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Francesca Gino is a behavioral scientist and the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She is the author of Rebel Talent and Sidetracked.
francescagino
KC

Katherine Coffman is an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Her research focuses on how stereotypes affect beliefs and behavior.

Unconscious Bias Training That Works

Idea in Brief

The Problem

The Cause

The Solution

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