The fallacy of bias training.
If you want awareness of bias in your org: run bias training.
If you want an actual equitable organization: don't run bias training. It may actually make things worse.
Bias training doesn't work, for reducing bias, or realizing equity.
In an era of 'evidence-informed' decision-making, it's remarkable that "unconscious bias" training is still around, when there is a lot of evidence to suggest it doesn't work.
Many EDI plans are a quantity % exercise. A run for numbers and targets. Not a shift in relationships and experiences- confirmed through evidence.For example, look at the Canada Research Chair (CRC) program, and mandated EDI initiatives based on a Human Rights Tribunal settlement (2006), & Federal Court order (2017).
The result of these mandated initiatives is that they miss org. and local contexts. Say for example, a university based in northern latitudes of any province.
The Tribunal settlement on the CRC program mandated equity targets based on Canadian census and pop. numbers. Thus, for self-identifying Indigenous peoples, approx. 5% of the overall pop.
For an institution, like the University Northern BC. which extends across the NW, northern interior and NE of the province of BC- maybe equity and diversity targets should represent the area operated within?
In parts of northwestern BC, populations are about 50% self-identifying Indigenous and 50% non-Indigenous. Across all of northern BC, it's close to 20% of population self-ID’s as Indigenous.
A nationally mandated equity target skips local contexts. Broad brush.
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Many organizations state claims about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and rush to develop policies, or statements, or commitments which aren't much built upon experiences of those marginalized, working and advocating for equity.
This would require qualitative evidence.
I've been in the muck on some of this work where statements, and commitments, and policies are released- but then little support processes to implement. Like...
Functioning, fair complaints systems to navigate gaps between aspirational policies and individual's real experiences related to inequity and lack of safety.
Bias and diversity training (esp. mandatory) focussed on individuals, their behaviors, their unconscious bias, will not change the glue of systemic and structural issues that created inequities in the first place.
It assists in pathologizing individuals, as well as increases a false sense of competency: “I'm not racist (or bias), I just did the anti-racism training last week...”
Bias and diversity training have the same roots as EDI plans. Arose out of court settlements, orders and tribunals. They've been around for decades, meaning there should be a wealth of evidence on how well they work.
That evidence would be actual equity.
Far more levers for Change required. Training alone will not cut it. The glue is sticky.
Having a policy is a small positive step. Processes for actual Change stretch well beyond aspirational policies, plans, and statements.