In June, the U.S. Justice Department made headlines when it became the first federal agency to mandate implicit bias training for its employees. In the coming months, more than 23,000 agents from the ATF, DEA, FBI, and U.S. Marshals Service, and some 5,800 prosecutors, will receive the science-based coaching.
The goal is to better understand the “hidden,” or unconscious, characterizations and stereotypes—particularly pertaining to gender, nationality, social class, and race—that unknowingly affect agents’ decisions and actions in law enforcement situations. The Justice Dept. wants its employees to become more aware of their subconscious prejudices and learn how to shun them altogether.
Skeptics view the move as a knee-jerk reaction to the headline-grabbing, riot-sparking police shootings in Baton Rouge, La., Chicago, Cleveland, Ferguson, Mo., and North Charleston, S.C. But Justice Dept. officials cite successful implicit bias training programs at the local law enforcement level—in Baltimore, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, and Seattle, to name a few—as the impetus for the directive.
“This program has been so well-received by our state and local counterparts, we thought it was something we should be offering to our federal agents, frankly, to get our own house in order,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told Reuters.
Before writing off implicit bias education as the 21st century’s version of sensitivity training, consider this: Some of the world’s largest and most progressive companies—including Coca-Cola, Facebook, and Google—have implemented formal unconscious bias training programs. And other corporate and tech giants—Apple and Intel included—have invested heavily in diversity and inclusion initiatives.
These companies are tapping into the latest research in psychology and sociology not only to advance their diversity and inclusion efforts when it comes to hiring, promoting, compensation, and high-performance teaming, but also to gain a better understanding of the tendencies of their employees, colleagues, and customers. In short, they believe diversity and inclusion make good business sense, when done right.
“It’s not enough just to throw people together,” says diversity consultant and author Howard Ross. “People need to learn how to interact with each other appropriately. They need to learn that the more diversity we have, the more work we have to do.”
Ross says implicit bias impacts almost all facets of business: hiring, recruitment, mentoring, performance reviews, supervisory decisions, client service, marketing. It affects how business professionals view their market: what they see and hear, what they don’t see and hear, how they solve problems, how they interpret situations, how they set norms and expectations.
In November, at BD+C’s first annual Women in Design+Construction Conference in Dana Point, Calif., implicit bias expert Sally Jue, of consulting firm Cook Ross, will explore ways that unconscious bias affects the AEC industry, particularly women in the profession. Jue will lead a talk and workshop in which participants will examine their own background and identities so that they can interact more authentically with their employees, colleagues, clients, family, and friends.
For more on the WiD+C Conference, visit: www.BDCnetwork.com/WIDC.
David Barista, Editorial Director
dbarista@sgcmail.com
Related Stories
| Jan 12, 2014
CES showcases innovations: Can any of these help you do your job better?
The Consumer Electronics Show took place this past week in Las Vegas. Known for launching new products and technologies, many of the products showcased there set the bar for future innovators. The show also signals trends to watch in technology applicable to the design and building industry.
| Jan 12, 2014
The ‘fuzz factor’ in engineering: when continuous improvement is neither
The biggest threat to human life in a building isn’t the potential of natural disasters, but the threat of human error. I believe it’s a reality that increases in probability every time a code or standard change is proposed.
| Jan 12, 2014
5 ways virtual modeling can improve facilities management
Improved space management, streamlined maintenance, and economical retrofits are among the ways building owners and facility managers can benefit from building information modeling.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Jan 10, 2014
What the states should do to prevent more school shootings
To tell the truth, I didn’t want to write about the terrible events of December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. I figured other media would provide ample coverage, and anything we did would look cheap or inappropriate. But two things turned me around.
| Jan 10, 2014
Special Report: K-12 school security in the wake of Sandy Hook
BD+C's exclusive five-part report on K-12 school security offers proven design advice, technology recommendations, and thoughtful commentary on how Building Teams can help school districts prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
| Jan 10, 2014
Resiliency, material health among top AEC focuses for 2014: Perkins+Will survey
Architectural giant Perkins+Will recently surveyed its staff of 1,500 design pros to forcast hot trends in the AEC field for 2014. The resulting Design + Insights Survey reflects a global perspective.
| Jan 9, 2014
How security in schools applies to other building types
Many of the principles and concepts described in our Special Report on K-12 security also apply to other building types and markets.
| Jan 9, 2014
16 recommendations on security technology to take to your K-12 clients
From facial recognition cameras to IP-based door hardware, here are key technology-related considerations you should discuss with your school district clients.
| Jan 9, 2014
Harley Ellis Devereaux, BFHL Architects announce merger
Effective January 1, 2014, Ralph Lotito and Brett Paloutzian have merged BFHL, comprising 15 healthcare architects, with Harley Ellis Devereaux. A national architecture and engineering firm in practice since 1908, Harley Ellis Devereaux has offices in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, CA.