Bias at work can be overt and insidious. It can be shocking and enraging. But the subtle “Wait, what just happened?” moments are far more frequent. Take these examples: A client assumes you are in a subordinate role because of your age. A prospective customer only makes eye contact with your white colleague. A coworker calls you “angry” while your equally assertive male counterpart gets labeled “strong” (a far too often occurrence for women as one of our previous studies showed).
How to React to Biased Comments at Work
Bias at work is sometimes overt and insidious, but the subtle, “Wait, what just happened?” moments are far more frequent. And when you aren’t sure if someone is being prejudiced or not, it’s hard to know how to deal with the situation. Leaders implement policies that prohibit discrimination against protected classes, but rules can’t prevent unconscious, unintentional bias. While organizational cultures need to change, individual also need strategies for coping. When addressing bias, know what your goal for the conversation is and then describe what happened. You don’t need to apologize or accuse the other person. Stay neutral and explain the impact on you. Organizations, too, have a responsibility to eliminate these situations. They can identify the times, places, and circumstances when bias are most likely to occur and target solutions. It’s best not to implement one initiative, such as training or policies, but to use multiple at the same time.