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 11, 2013
HMC Architects: In their own voices
See what HMC professionals say about their “Best AEC Firm to Work For”
| Jan 10, 2013
Guide predicts strongest, weakest AEC markets for 2013
2013 Guide to U.S. AEC markets touts apartments, natural gas, senior housing and transmission and distribution.
| Jan 9, 2013
Panasonic and Bluebeam preview new architect app at CES 2013
Panasonic and Bluebeam Software collaborate to develop and introduce the 4K tablet and software to the design and construction industry.
| Jan 3, 2013
Answered prayers
A bold renovation enables a small church to expand its mission on a grand scale.
| Jan 3, 2013
Top BIM/VDC articles of 2011-2012
A compendium of BD+Cs top building information modeling and virtual design + construction articles from 2011-12.
| Jan 3, 2013
8 trends shaping today’s senior housing
The ranks of those age 65 and older are swelling by the thousands every day. Is there an opportunity for your firm in the seniors housing market?
| Jan 2, 2013
Trends Report: New facilities enhance the quality of campus life
Colleges and universities are building state-of-the-art student unions, dining halls, and other non-academic buildings to enrich the campus experience, boost enrollment, and stay competitive.
| Jan 2, 2013
M&A activity at U.S. AEC firms up slightly
Total mergers and acquisitions in the AEC industry hit 171 in 2012, up slight from the 169 deals in 2011.
| Jan 2, 2013
Global data center market to ‘slow’ to 14.3% this year
Total global investment in data centers is expected to slow down somewhat this year but still increase at a respectable 14.3%, according to DCD Intelligence.