Learning about bias

One of the challenges women can face in their career is to overcome stereotyping and preconceptions about the role that a woman might play in an organisation. The UK firm is helping to address that by offering a Bias Awareness Training course.

This in-house course, which is targeted at partners, directors and those in coaching and people development roles, helps participants to understand the nature and occurrences of bias, and shows techniques on how to challenge bias in the workplace when, for example, assessing colleagues.

It recognises that our actions are rooted in internal values, beliefs and our background, and, accordingly, we all have biases. Diversity and inclusion relates to everyone, not just minorities; it is about thinking, feelings and beliefs.

To change behaviour, participants are taught to run through an implementation intentions plan — a mental rehearsal of the thought process. “When I meet someone different to me, I will treat them fairly and objectively, I will not stereotype or make assumptions about them. I will treat them as an individual.”

If you recognise that there is an issue, but that the problem lacks an obvious reason (for example, the talent pipeline does not reflect the actual population) then this can be one of a suite of tools to tackle the issue. It creates a better level of self awareness and generates an improved knowledge of the issue of bias.