USA Fencing is committed to working alongside our membership to ensure we are creating safe and inclusive spaces for everyone to enjoy the sport of fencing as their authentic selves.
To create these spaces, it's important to acknowledge our biases and how they can serve as blindspots in our understanding of others. Below is a resource to help acknowledge, identify and confront your unconscious biases. Remember, give yourself and your peers some GRACE, we’re on this journey of continuous learning, TOGETHER!
The information below was adapted from the Rotary Club of Minneapolis
Understanding unconscious bias
Bias is a prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another usually in a way that’s considered to be unfair. Biases may be held by an individual, group, or institution and can have negative or positive consequences.
There are two types of biases:
1. Conscious bias (also known as explicit bias)
2. Unconscious bias (also known as implicit bias)
It is important to note that biases, conscious or unconscious, are not limited to ethnicity and race. Though racial bias and discrimination are well documented, biases may exist toward any social group. One’s age, gender, gender identity, physical abilities, religion, sexual orientation, weight, and many other characteristics are subject to bias.
Unconscious biases are social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing. Unconscious bias is far more prevalent than conscious prejudice and often incompatible with one’s conscious values. Certain scenarios can activate unconscious attitudes and beliefs. For example, biases may be more prevalent when multitasking or working under time pressure.
It is important to note that our unconscious biases have the potential to perpetuate stereotypes formed about groups of people.These formed stereotypes can impact our relationships and interactions with each other in many ways.
Unconscious biases can manifest is in the form of microaggressions: subtle verbal or nonverbal insults or denigrating messages communicated toward a marginalized person, often by someone who may be well-intentioned but unaware of the impact of their words or actions have on the target person/group. Some common examples are:
Like, where are you really from?
Assuming all people with Asian descent are chinese.
You’re really pretty for a dark-skinned girl.
Emphasizing how articulate a person of Color is.
Microaggressions can be based on any aspect of a marginalized person’s identity (for example, sexuality, religion, or gender). Individual microaggressions may not be devastating to the person experiencing them; however, their cumulative effects over time can be large.
Race and Ethnicity Bias
Race and ethnicity bias occurs when people assume certain characteristics about someone based on their race or ethnicity, such as assuming that all Asian students are good at math or that all Hispanic individuals are English-language learners, and then take actions that reinforce those biases — unconsciously overlooking a Hispanic employee for a task that requires strong English communication skills, for example.
Age Bias
Age bias occurs when people make assumptions about others based on their age, such as when a hiring manager looking for a social media-savvy applicant rejects a resume because the graduation date tips off that the applicant is middle-aged, unconsciously assuming that the candidate wouldn’t be adept at social media management.
Gender Bias
Gender bias occurs when people assume one gender is better suited for a particular job — such as welding or babysitting — regardless of an applicant’s experience level.
LGBTQIA+ Bias
Assuming that lesbians can’t relate to men, and so reflexively declining to pair them with male teammates; assigning gay men to workplace tasks involving design without thinking of the reasons behind their choice; and unconsciously overlooking bisexuals for leadership positions based on an incorrect assumption that they “can’t make up their minds” are examples of LGBTQIA+ bias. LGBTQIA+ bias is also prevalent in the healthcare system. For example, when a nurse practitioner asks a female-presenting woman if she has a boyfriend when discussing her sexual history, implicit bias is at play.
Ability Bias
Ability bias is prevalent throughout society. Examples include hiring managers who are less likely to select a candidate with a disability because they unconsciously assume they’ll be more likely to take sick leave, and individuals who assume that all people who struggle with mental illness are prone to violent or dangerous behavior and so, without knowing they’re doing so, restrict them from certain roles.
Affinity Bias
An affinity bias refers to our tendency to gravitate toward people similar to ourselves. If you’ve ever wondered why similar people tend to become friends, it’s because of the affinity bias. We like people who remind us of ourselves or someone we know and like.
Example: If you’re working with an employee who went to the same college or grew up in the same town, you may be more likely to smile or offer encouraging words, compared with an employee with whom you don’t share similarities.
Confirmation Bias
Different types of unconscious bias examples include confirmation bias. This is the idea that people search for bits of evidence that back up their opinions, instead of objectively looking at all of the information. Often this causes people to overlook information, focus on factors that fit only their view, or reject evidence that contradicts what they already believe.
Example: A candidate arrives 10 minutes late due to a circumstance outside of their control. Unaware of this, you automatically assume the candidate arrived because of disorganization. As a result, when interviewing them you focus on information on his or her resume that backs up your preconceived notion.
Attribution Bias
Attribution bias contributes to how we assess others and their achievements. When we think of our achievements, we judge ourselves based on our merit and personality. Anything we’ve been awarded, we’ve earned because of our own hard work; anytime we’ve failed, we’ve been adversely impacted by external factors. When we assess others, we often think the opposite. We believe their successes are due to luck, and their failures are due to poor capabilities or personal errors.
Example: When someone cuts a driver off, the individual who was cut off is more likely to attribute their actions to the other driver’s inherent personality traits (i.e. recklessness, rudeness, incompetence) rather than the situational circumstances (i.e. the driver was late to work).
Beauty Bias
Again, the unconscious bias definition is stereotypes formed outside our conscious awareness. While few individuals admit to having a beauty bias, it’s common to notice other people’s appearances and associate it with their personality. Unfortunately, many of us judge others based on their physical attractiveness. This can manifest in many ways, such as seeing a coworker as unprofessional because of their choice of clothing, or attributing a stereotype to someone because of their physical appearance.
Example: CEOs are taller than those in other roles
Participating in workshops, seminars, on-line courses and webinars are just a few ways individuals can learn more about unconscious bias and how to combat it. Holistic training includes information about how such biases can be identified and combated by individuals, groups, organizations, and in society at large. Training should also include information about structural dynamics in society that perpetuate unconscious biases. Practical strategies will help individuals combat unconscious bias in their personal and professional lives.
Strategies to Mitigate Unconscious Bias
Learn as Much as Possible About Unconscious Bias…and Ways to Combat It
Tell Your Story…and Listening to the Stories of Others
Avoid Stereotypes and Over-Generalizations
Separate Feelings from Facts
Have a Diverse Group of People around the Decision-Making Table
Engage in Self- Reflection to Uncover Personal Biases
Develop Safe and Brave Spaces to Discuss Unconscious Bias
Be an Active Ally
Don’t Expect a Quick Fix
Practice Empathy
Additional Resources
Step 1: Choose five of your "go-to” people. This can be your best friend(s), people from school, work, etc.- think of them as your inner circle - the people you consider trustworthy and who you feel gives you the best advice.
Step 2: Have participants make a chart with nine columns and six rows (five plus a header row).
Step 3: In the first column list the five “go-to” friends. Then add the other columns: Gender, Sexual Orientation, Race/Ethnicity, Age, Education Level, Nationality, Ableness, and Native Language.
Step 4: Now go to the first column (race/ethnicity). Place an [x] for everyone that defines themselves as the same race/ethnicity as you.
Step 5: Continue with the same for all of the columns: e.g “if you are heterosexual and the people you trust also are then you should have an [x] in that whole column”
Step 6: Reflection. When having done the whole exercise ask the participants to reflect on their circle - no one has to share any details - the focus here is on what their results made them think about.
If you’re male, are most of your trusted friends male as well? Likewise for female?
In what ways are you and your trusted friends similar?
The results of the exercise lead well into a reflection or an open discussion. Questions to ask:
How diverse is your circle of trust?
How might you diversify your inner circle of confidants
How might embracing diverse perspectives have an impact on: customer empathy? worldview of markets? potential customers? opportunities? possibilities…
| Go to Friends | Race/ Ethnicity | Gender | Sexual Orientation | Age | Education Level | Nationality | (Dis)ability | Native Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
