Challenging unconscious biases

If we truly want safe and thriving communities, we must start by looking within ourselves

Some time ago, I took part in workplace equity, diversity and inclusion training. The facilitator remarked that it was heart work, and she was right. If we truly want safe and thriving communities, we must start by looking within ourselves. This work is not for the faint-hearted; it requires commitment and stamina. Too many people are either unaware or uninterested or both; the system(s) is working for them, why change it?

Our systems and our society are a reflection of us; if we want our world to be better, then we have to do better. That means examining our role and responsibility in changing the current structures that perpetuate inequality and injustice; we must first understand how they came to exist.

From an evolutionary perspective, bias makes sense. Born from a need to understand our world, we learned to categorize everything, identifying friend or foe, things that might cause us harm, and the things we relied upon for survival. Our ability to categorize allowed us to succeed as a species. It is no surprise, then, that we are naturally drawn to people who look like us and who share similar values, culture, and characteristics, such as religion, ability, gender, status, and age. Conversely, as we feel affinity bias for some, we are predisposed to be suspicious and resistant to others.

We all hold biases, but as we have evolved, our survival-based need for bias has become largely redundant. Yet, it persists, leading to marginalization and discrimination of populations that do not fall within the dominant group of society. Unconscious bias is a unique cultural phenomenon tied to the time and location in which it exists. The culture that we live in normalizes what is acceptable and what isn’t. Like toads immersed in gradually warming water, we fail to recognize and often perpetrate and perpetuate harm on the most vulnerable.

Our friends and family are often a homogenous group; how diverse or similar are they? Now consider, if they are like you, how you formed your opinion of others outside your group. Challenging ourselves to reflect on our biases requires curiosity and honesty. Catch yourself stereotyping people as you see them or listen to the news. What stories are you telling yourself? As you start to identify and work to dismantle your biases, ask yourself, how do you know what you think you know? Are people who live in cities smarter than those who live in the country? Do poor people really just need to work harder? Do you criminalize or mythologize BIPOC people based on their race?

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

As much as we all hold bias, BIPOC and marginalized populations feel the burden of them every day as they manifest in stereotypes, microaggressions, and discrimination. Recently my husband and I went out on two occasions in a short time span; this is unusual as we tend to be homebodies. During both outings, I endured the unwelcome and hostile stares of two older white men, which resulted in spoiled nights out. On the second trip, I was out with my husband and some friends; we had tickets to a show at the Harbourside Theatre. When we entered the auditorium, I observed that I was the only Black person, not an unusual occurrence but one that causes discomfort. Looking over to my husband seated on my right, I noticed an older white male — not the same one as before — glowering at me. His anger was evident on his face. As his behaviour continued and became more disconcerting, and determined not to allow him to spoil the evening (although it did). I stared back at him, refusing to be intimidated, until he looked away.

However much I might try, these incidents take their toll; I am sure the same is true for many marginalized people. It is hard to cast off the slights and indignities we are forced to endure, the change placed on the counter instead of into your outstretched hand, the stares, and the people who believe it is OK to be rude or treat you as less than, because of the colour of your skin. The number of instances that I can recall is staggering, testimony to the cumulative burden of the ignorance of others. Imagine the communities we could build if today, we all took one step toward recognizing and dismantling our biases so that everyone is given the same opportunities, a sense of belonging, justice, and equality. Imagine what a wonderful world this would be if we could only look past our differences and see the humanity of others.