'It feels right, but is it?', Ask Yourself before it leaves you gutted.

"If it feels right, it must be true" How many times have you taken decision on this stance?

If the answer is 'Yes', it might be a time for you to reconsider your responses.

Although the evolution of brain is considered the most remarkable achievement yet its function, activity and controls are deterrent to achievements of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. Amygdala in your brain is always looking for common than uncommon, feeding on threats and negativity, rapidly transforming stimuli to signals, triggering fear and shut down of Prefrontal cortex, critical for success, empathy, creativity and productivity.

Being a part of the education industry, often you feel you are concerned, caring and unbiased towards the most important stakeholders, 'the students'. Even the most dedicated, caring and nice teachers could possible hold stereotypes and affect students in ways and more. Teachers often perceive of their students' academic scores and results, prior experiences with students' on their assignments often create teacher bias in view of current assignments.

Unknowingly they have a drastic effect on the performance of their pupils. Teachers' expectations of students' affect their interactions with them. As suggested by an experiment done by Rosenthal and Jacobsen in 1968, expectations of a leader have a direct influence on the people they are leading. 

Often in classrooms, teachers create biases unintentionally. Whether it just turning your back to a group of students, placing students of color at a given position in the classroom, favouring those who match our own identity or whom we might perceive privileged. Often the opinions we form at the beginning of school year become a lens to see the student throughout the year. This limits the learning w.r.t to the opportunities and recognition. Teaching has a powerful reach and impact. So is the extent of the damage caused as well.

Not just common to education industry, but just in our everyday life we may face unconscious biases. Being a woman and a mum doesn't call for low paying jobs or no jobs at all. Should women be valued less for having gaps in their work if they are tending to parental job or hindered from returning back to jobs due to the gap being perceived as a no work period?

Whilst we aren't just battling the male versus female getting hired, given the similar skills, qualifications and experience but also the name on the resume sets the first impression. Even though we are contented with Kamala Harris being the first black and Indian American Woman to make history, we are not yet looking for reasons why the US still hadn't had the Female President?

Are women powerful than men ? Are men threatened to see women counterpart succeed ? Numerous biases at work hamper women on taking senior roles. They could be seen disadvantaged due to pregnancy or primary care taker of children, their soft and caring approach might be mistaken for less ambitious and less power driven.

So is there a solution to it ? Fortunately there is. Training is critical to shifting accustomed preferences to making conscious decisions, diverse, fair and inclusive.

1. Change the perspective, change the mental image. Ask yourself several times the same question but from different perspective.

2. Challenge the norm, for it might not be the best fit. Analyse your 'gut feeling', in collaboration with opinion from the team.

3. Hire people with diverse backgrounds, race, ethnicity, gender, color, nationality, age to represent and uphold diversity of stake holders.

4. Get away from Decision fatigue. Take a break, pause and reflect on your thoughts, challenge your mind to weigh pros and cons and let decision making come organically and not forced upon hastily.

References :

Qizilbash, A. (2016, July 25). 4 ways to tame your negativity bias. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/279044

Hingorani, Shailey. “Commentary: The Unequal, Unnoticed Life of a Female Worker.” CNA, 31 Mar. 2021, www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/gender-equality-equal-pay-singapore-work-cpf-life-savings-10877958.

“Understanding Bias and the Brain.” Korn Ferry, 11 May 2015, www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/understanding-bias-and-brain.