This excellent piece was written be Emily Clews of Fides Search. We are honoured to be part of it.
Unconscious bias is one of the key inhibitors of diverse and inclusive workplace cultures. It impacts how every individual experiences the workplace and affects who gets hired, promoted and developed. It has severe consequences for the inclusion and retention of women, minority and diverse groups, and can undermine the success of other policies and initiatives seeking to increase diversity and inclusion.
So why should organisations continue to invest [in training]?Firstly, it is people that implement the systems and processes used to counteract bias. In other words, if the people implementing these systems have no idea what kind of bias to look out for, organisations will never become more diverse and inclusive. Secondly, individuals need to be made aware of the problem and accountable for the solution if organisations want to change behaviours. “Human beings need to implementprocesses” says Victoria Lewis, Chief Executive ofTraining at Byrne Dean. “Inclusion doesn’t happen on its own. The leaders of law fims need to continually drive inclusion and prompt people to call out noninclusive behaviour”.
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