Implicit Bias Training

2. Implicit Bias Training Presented by: Council of Chief Librarians Anthony Brown, Esq. Chief Diversity Officer & Special Assistant to the President (Interim) March 11, 2019

3. Who are Our Students • Born in over 150 different countries • Speak over 105 different languages • 31% are first generation in college • 33% are born outside of U.S. mainland • 37% speak a language other than English at home Office of Diversity & Equity

4. Who are Our Students • Born in over 150 different countries • Speak over 105 different languages • 31% are first generation in college • 33% are born outside of U.S. mainland • 37% speak a language other than English at home Office of Diversity & Equity

5. Faculty Diversity • How do you think faculty diversity looks like at library departments? • Why should we be concerned about faculty diversity as compared to student diversity? • What is the impact of faculty diversity on students? Office of Diversity & Equity

6. Student Comments RE Faculty Diversity • Dr. Hammond found in her research that students of color, in choosing their major, were influenced by whether they knew a professor of color in that field – a potential role model and mentor. • “Not only were there others like [me], bit there was someone who actually overcame the extreme challenges.” • “There is literally no one here who looks like me (outside of Prof. X) no one who I can look up to and say, ‘Oh that’s how you do it’ no one who can say ‘This is how you interact and communicate your skill set in an organization that doesn’t have people who look like you.’” • “Having African American professors benefits all students. All students have to realize that we can all learn from someone who is of a different background. If students want to succeed in business, they will need to respect the opinion of others who are different from them.”

7. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, transgender, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, alienage or citizenship, prior arrest record, or marital, military, or veteran status is illegal • Illegal to retaliate against a member of the community for raising an allegation of discrimination, filing a complaint alleging discrimination, or for participating in any proceeding to determine whether discrimination has occurred • There are additional practices that can still serve as barriers in the hiring process for minority groups – implicit bias Office of Diversity & Equity

8. Implicit Bias: • Mental associations of certain groups with specific traits (e.g. stereotypes) • Below conscious awareness • Which are often followed by subconscious prejudice (dis/liking) • and/or discrimination (behavior) • In a manner that typically benefits oneself or one’s group and/or disadvantages out-groups • Tend to involve limited or inaccurate perception of others Office of Diversity & Equity

9. Why Implicit Bias Occurs • Backed up by neuroscience • Way too much information if we were cogitatively aware of everything • Brain looks for patterns based on the cumulative effect of everything you have seen in your life • Brain then filters for us what it sees as the most important • Similar to autopilot - brain takes shortcuts • Sub – conscious • Not about what you believe in but what you have been exposed to Office of Diversity & Equity

10. I don’t see black/white/color/gender • Do you treat family members better than friends? • Do you treat friends better than strangers? • We tend to treat in-group members better than outside group members • We are built to treat members differently – socially and evolutionarily Office of Diversity & Equity

11. Implicit bias is more prevalent than explicit bias because our minds are cognitive machines that encode and store many associations between groups and traits that we have not consciously processed. • We all possess biases • But the consequences of biases vary based upon the roles we play in society Office of Diversity & Equity

12. Examples of Implicit BiasOften occurs when the hiring process feels rushed Office of Diversity & Equity

13. Cloning • Replicating oneself by hiring someone with similar attributes or background. • Expecting candidates to resemble someone whom the search committee is replacing. • Devaluing someone who is not like most of 'us' on the committee. • Undervaluing a candidate's research because it is not familiar. • Limits the scope and breadth of approaches and perspectives in research, teaching and service. Office of Diversity & Equity

14. Provincialism • Similar to cloning, - undervaluing something outside your own province, circle, or clan. • For example, placing higher deference for reference letters from people you know/recognize • Results in candidates from other institutions being under-valued • Qualified candidates from institutions such as historically black universities, public universities, government, or industry may offer innovative, diverse and valuable perspectives on research and teaching Office of Diversity & Equity

15. Positive Stereotypes • A halo effect where members of the dominant group are presumed to be competent. • Such a member receives the benefit of the doubt, negative attributes are glossed over and success is assumed. • Positive achievements are noted more than negative performance, and success is assumed. • Also called the "original affirmative action" because dominant group members are automatically presumed qualified and thereby given an unearned advantage. Office of Diversity & Equity

16. Elitist Behavior • Increasing qualifications for women and minority candidates because their competency doesn't strike committee members as trustworthy • Downgrading the qualifications of women and minorities, based on accent, dress, and demeanor • In short, unequal expectations based on a candidate's social identity Office of Diversity & Equity

17. Good Fit/Bad Fit • While it may be about whether the person can meet the programmatic needs for the position, it often is about how comfortable and culturally at ease we will feel. Office of Diversity & Equity

18. Visionary • Members of dominant groups are evaluated based on their potential whereas underrepresented groups are judged on their accomplishments and their track record only • "He has vision" or "She lacks vision" Office of Diversity & Equity

19. The “Star” • Used when the speaker is an infatuated fan of the candidate under consideration. • For example, "She's not a star" or "It's clear he's a rock star“, “he’s a rising star” • When you hear it, ask the speaker to explain their use of the term and support it with evidence Office of Diversity & Equity

20. Impact of Bias • Journal Articles – a before-and-after study of articles published in Behavior Ecology found a significant increase in the publication of articles with a woman as first author after implementation of a double-blind review process • Conference Abstracts – Abstracts with a randomly provided fake male name were given higher “scientific quality” ratings than those with a female name. additionally, more “masculine” topics of study (ie computer technology) were rated higher quality than “feminine” topics of study (ie parenting) Office of Diversity & Equity

21. Conference speakers – a review of two major biology conference programs from 2001-2011 showed women are less likely to be invited to give talks. The number of invitation extended to women was greater if women were also on the conference organizing committee • Creative talent – the portion of women and POC hired by symphony orchestras increased substantially after screens to conceal candidate identities from audition committees came into use • Citations – women are systematically cited less than men. Men are also more likely to self-cite, additionally scholars tend to cite other scholars of the same gender. This means when a field is male-dominated this pattern will lead to significantly fewer cites for women and significantly less exposure for their scholarship Office of Diversity & Equity

22. Vague Red Flag Examples • “Her priorities didn’t seem to match up with ours well.” • “He wasn’t as mature as the other candidates.” • “His personality didn’t seem like a good match for us.” • “She didn’t seem to be as serious about this position as John was.” • “I didn’t think she would like living here in Brooklyn.” • “I don’t know that he’d find many friends here.” • “She hasn’t worked with any of the real leaders in the field” • “I've just never been all that impressed with graduates from Southern Montana University” • “Her comment about astrophysical assimilation in her seminar made her totally unsuitable for the position” These are red flags of unconscious biases in search committee discussions We must force ourselves and our colleagues to view all candidates objectively to avoid prejudice, and speak up when we observe unconscious (and likely unintentional) biases expressed by others. Challenge committee members and other faulty to back-up such statements with objective information. Office of Diversity & Equity

24. Can implicit bias be eliminated? • No, but it can be managed • Implicit is the initial – automatic subconscious • Explicit – conscious, slower but more accurate • Implicit bias can be overridden by conscious effort • Good well meaning people can be biased – implicit is not a conscious act • Same image – depending on your perspective see different images Office of Diversity & Equity

25. Tips for minimizing the influence of bias and assumptions • Learn about and discuss research on biases and assumptions and consciously strive to minimize their influence on your evaluation • Develop and prioritize evaluation criteria prior to evaluating candidates and apply them consistently to all applicants • Spent sufficient time evaluating each applicant • Evaluate each candidate’s entire application – don’t depend too heavily on only one element such as letters of recommendation or prestige of the degree-granting institution or the post-doc program • Each member will bear responsibility for asking for a 'time out' if she/he detects a possible error in the-making, and then quickly pause to discuss and try to correct. Office of Diversity & Equity

26. Flip the Process • Focus on inclusion rather than exclusion when making selection decisions. Evaluators make more careful and deliberate choices when deciding whom to include than exclude. • Be able to defend every decision for advancing (or eliminating) a candidate • Periodically evaluate your judgments, determine where qualified women or underrepresented minorities are included in your pool and whether evaluation biases and assumptions are inducing your decisions Office of Diversity & Equity

27. Establishing Screening Criteria By establishing screening criteria prior to reviewing applications, the Search Committee reduces the potential for bias. The Search Committee should define and document: • Criteria to be used in evaluating applications and the evaluation methods • Initial Screening – Rubric for determining who gets to phone interview • 1st round Interview – Write up the same list of questions for each candidate with a score (1-5 scale) • 2nd Round interview (Skype or on-campus) have questions already written Office of Diversity & Equity

28. Guidelines • Attendance at each search committee meeting will be the norm. • Present and consider concrete evidence, not personal opinion or hearsay about job candidates. • Decide, before the committee commences its work, how the committee will come to decisions during various stages of the work. • Will we be governed by voting with a simple majority prevailing, by reaching consensus, or by some other method? Office of Diversity & Equity

29. Legal Issues • Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, transgender, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, alienage or citizenship, prior arrest record, or marital, military, or veteran status is illegal • Don’t want disclosure of any of these groups • Do not ask questions which could be viewed as discriminatory or which are unrelated to the job. • Need to document legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for not advancing any interviewed candidate. Office of Diversity & Equity

30. Applicants may Volunteer Info • Non-job related information relating to religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, etc. is brought up during an interview, which can be used to discriminate. • An example is an applicant who talks about being divorced or about his/her children and childcare arrangements. • Even though you did not ask for the information, you can still be charged with discrimination if a question arises subsequently about how this information was used. • Should an applicant volunteer non-job related information: • Do not write the information down • Do not ask follow-up questions or make statements to continue in the area of discussions • Return the discussion to job related issues • Do not consider the non-job related information in deciding about the applicant’s candidacy.

31. Be Cautious When Taking Notes • Notes are discoverable – that means others, including litigants and their attorneys, may obtain copies of them. • Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want someone else to see or that someone could misunderstand or misinterpret as discriminatory or biased. • Write facts, not conclusions. • Example: • Don’t write: The candidate was inappropriately dressed for the interview. • Do write: The candidate wore jeans to the interview. • Avoid language that is vague or ambiguous. • Remember, if you write something down, the assumption is it is an important factor you will consider in your evaluation process. • Notes are business records (not personal documents); the committee must submit them to the Office of Diversity & Equity Office of Diversity & Equity

32. Confidentiality • Treat all deliberations confidential. • Information about applicants remains confidential, except during official public and/or external screening activities. • Members should not contact or speak with applicants unless doing so on behalf of the entire Committee and with the permission of the Search Chair. • If contacted outside of the official process, Search Committee members should refer candidates to Human Resources. • Search Committee members should not discuss screening or interview results, the nature of deliberations, and impressions of individual candidates outside of the Committee. Office of Diversity & Equity

33. What are different areas of your work that may be impacted by implicit bias Policy & guidelines Research & projects Evaluations Promotions Workload & assignments Investment and assistance in employee’s success Overall interaction with fellow employees

34. Evaluations Evaluators ability to give truly objective feedback Evaluators ability to pay attention during evaluations Amount of feedback Details in the feedback Type of critiques

35. Women’s Evaluations Men’s evaluations “You can come across as abrasive sometimes. I know you don’t mean to, but you need to pay attention to your tone.” “Your peers sometimes feel that you don’t leave them enough room. Sometimes you need to step back to let others shine.” “The presentation ultimately went well. But along the way, we discovered many areas for improvement. You would have had an easier time if you had been less judgmental about R—‘s contributions from the beginning.” “Constructive feedback on your performance as a feature crew tester can be summed up by saying that you still have some skills to continue to develop.” “Hone your strategies for guiding your team and developing their skills. It is important to set proper guidance around priorities and to help as needed in designs and product decisions.” “There were a few cases where it would have been extremely helpful if you had gone deeper into the details to help move an area forward.” “Take time to slow down and listen. You would achieve even more.”

36. “The critical feedback men receive is heavily geared towards suggestions for additional skills to develop.” “Women are given constructive suggestions – and told to pipe down.”

37. Why is it important to stop implicit bias in the workplace? • Implicit bias: • Prevents people from excelling in the workplace, • Prevents diversity among employees and different talents, perspectives and opinions from being shared, recognized and utilized, • Marginalizes certain employees rather than creating a cohesive work environment, and • Normalizes and proliferates existing implicit bias.

39. African Americans and Latinos are among the biggest supporters of libraries, they are not reflected in the ranks of the workforce.

40. Studies have shown a correlation between libraries that value diversity and patrons’ satisfaction with library services and the ability to retain required information.

41. “Despite the numerous articles and proposals providing best practices on building diverse workforces, ALA’s statistics demonstrate that little has actually changed in the eld of librarianship.”

42. What can you do to address the impact that implicit bias may have in the workplace?

43. Identify Entry Points for Bias • Start by taking a look how implicit bias may impact decisions made regarding: • Policy & guidelines • Research & projects • Workload & assignments • How can we prevent implicit biases from affecting decisions made in these areas?

44. Establish clear criteria in advance of making decisions (hiring, promotion, etc) Scrutinize the criteria or have it scrutinized, and think through whether it unintentionally screens out certain good candidates for hiring or promotion.

45. Hold People Accountable For Their Decisions Set the expectation that personnel decisions should be backed with an explanation and/or data. A study found that companies who appointed “diversity managers” that asked decision-makers to explain their reasoning saw 7-18% increases in most underrepresented groups in management.

46. Have a mission and set goals • Create a mission statement and policies that focus on diversity and fostering a culture of inclusion. Reinforce this mission. • Promote openness and communication between members of your department to talk about issues involving diversity or to take suggestions about fostering inclusion.

47.  Mentoring and professional development opportunities Hold diversity and implicit bias trainings. Have meetings with employees that reinforce the importance of diversity. Prepare diverse individuals for advancement and management opportunities. This can be done by providing opportunities for employees to attend workshops, trainings and conferences.

48. Take away Continue to evaluate the different areas within your workplace that may be impacted by implicit biases. Breakdown the ways that they may be impacted. Create a plan to address them and work on strategies to mitigate the affects of existing implicit biases. Continue to emphasize the importance of diversity.

49. Implicit Biases Manifestation • Implicit biases manifest in our non-verbal behavior towards others • Such as frequency of eye contact and physical proximity Office of Diversity & Equity

50. Different Types of Bias • Gender bias -  Are you assessing value based on gender? Are your treating genders differently? Do you accept more aggressive behavior from male students but rebuff female students for similar behavior? • Weight related bias - There is more hidden bias among your staff about people’s weight than you might think. It’s disrespectful and devalues your service. • Racial bias -are you nicer to certain individuals from certain races Office of Diversity & Equity