ASSESSING AND TRANSCENDING OUR BIASES

Provincial Partnership in ActionNovember 4-6, 2008

Edmundston, NB

• Men hate each other because they fear each other, and they fear each other because they don't know each other, and they don't know each other because they are often separated from each other. - Martin Luther King -

What is bias?

• A bias is an inclination towards something, or a predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, or predilection.

Stereotype

An exaggerated belief, image or distorted truth

about a person or group

Prejudice

An opinion, prejudgment or attitude about a group or

its individual members

Discrimination

A behavior that treats people unequally because of their group memberships

Foundation of Biases

Fear ↔ estrange ↔Separation

Forms of biases

Hidden Biases

Who Me?

• Yes. Everybody has biases, hidden or not, that could be manifested in certain situation

• Scientific research has demonstrated that biases which are thought to be absent or extinguished remain as "mental residue" in most of us.

Hidden Biases and behavior

“A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts” (Norm Grandy)

Hidden Biases and discrimination

• Responsible of the exclusion and unfair treatment of certain groups

• Proven present in hiring and promotion practices

• Proven present in court jury deliberations and other daily tasks requiring judgments of human character.

Why is it important to assess and transcend our biases?

• Women centered approach

• Changing demographics`

• To truly value diversity in order to provide quality services to all our clients equally

EXERCISE

Interacting with Diversity worksheet

Objective

• The main objective of assessing our biases exercise is to be aware of our own biases in order to transcend them and to improve our response to intimate partner abuse.

• Specific objectives:• To assess the extent of our contact with diverse people.• To increase awareness about the need to broaden our associations.

• To identify areas of discomfort in dealing with others who are different

• To move beyond our biases

Questions for discussion

• How does your comfort level influence your interactions or service provision with the people you are not familiar with?

• What are some ways to increase contact and comfort with diverse individuals?

• Make a list of the diverse groups you could bring as members at your tables, in your organization.

How do we move beyond biases?

To move beyond biases is to accept diversity and to adopt a way of thinking and feeling - but most importantly, of acting that gives us peace in our individuality, respect for those unlike us, the wisdom to discern humane values and the courage to act upon them

• The first step may be to admit that biases are learned early and are counter to our commitment to just treatment

• Feeling unconscious bias through assessment rather then dismissing them

How do we move beyond biases?

Committing to change

• When you are surrounded by sameness, you get only variations of the same - Kevin Sullivan, VP of H R at Apple Computers

• Nothing; everything that is faced can be changed But nothing can be changed until it is faced. - Unknown

General Dos And Don’ts

Do…. • Recognize, respect, honor

and celebrate differences• Develop a working knowledge

of clients background’s• Use diverse appropriate

communication strategies• Promote inclusion at all level

Don’t……. • Use information that you may

have about a group to prejudge, stereotype, discriminate, etc.

• Patronize but try to be empathetic

• Criticize or “blame” the culture• Assume that your cultural

practices / expressions are appropriate for everybody

• Don’t validate any biases

• “The horizon leans forwards offering you space to place new steps of change”

Maya Angelou

THANK YOU