TalentLearning & DevelopmentDoes unconscious bias training even work?

Does unconscious bias training even work?

Unconscious bias training has become a corporate buzz-concept in recent years, as organisations are beginning to recognise the growing importance of creating an inclusive culture. However, does this training even work? Or is it just the first step in what should be a consistent, daily effort?

A few weeks ago, the Financial Times published a letter from a reader which accused the publication of having too few non-white writers or leaders. In her response, Associate Editor & Business columnist, Pilita Clark, spoke about how a lack of diversity is still a prevalent issue for many organisations. In order to tackle this, the vast majority resort to providing cookie-cutter training sessions for their employees.

“Hauling employees in for a bout of training to show they harbour blind spots about the differences between men and women or black and white workers has become a go-to fix on the equality front…” But the question still remains: how effective is it in changing organisational attitudes and behaviours?

Formal, instructor-led bias training is booming business. It’s estimated that US companies spent $8bn last year on diversity training. CEO of unconscious bias training provider Paradigm Joelle Emerson stated in a 2017 Harvard Business Review article that “96% of participants leave intending to engage in behaviors to reduce bias”.

Does this intent mirror action? It’s all well and good if employees want to be more inclusive, but are training courses quickly forgotten?

According to Fiona Young, Diversity and Inclusion Director (Content) at Hive Learning, “Unconscious bias training is proven to be one of the least effective ways to create a more inclusive culture.” Indeed, experimental research has in fact claimed that unconscious bias training can even end up condoning stereotypes, rather than eliminating them. She continues, saying “It’s great that so many organisations now prioritise diversity, but they have to actually make sure that they focus on putting change into action.”

This, however, is doubtful at best. In her column, Clark writes: “There is little evidence it changes behaviour and some showing it can backfire…”. This is seconded by John Amaechi, a psychologist and organisational consultant, who has gone as far as saying that “given the continued negative experiences of so many in the workplace resulting from the behaviours we see from colleagues and managers, unconscious bias training is simply a way that organisations can achieve a level of plausible deniability”.

So, how can companies implement genuine change? To help tackle the issue, Hive Learning have created Kaleidoscope, the world’s first diversity inclusion programme which is designed to turn unconscious bias into conscious action. Their group-based learning platform, a mobile-first toolkit, helps reinforce lessons learnt during unconscious bias training with bite-sized pieces of content.

This content is then amplified through daily nudges, notifications and reminders to remind people to take action on what they’ve learnt. The problem currently, according to Young, is that “too often organisations don’t prioritise actually helping their people understand what it truly means to be inclusive or to practice inclusion as they go about their job.”

In her opinion, it’s as much about a change in mindset as anything else: “Organisations should shift their focus so they don’t purely think about process, but also about people – with the ultimate aim of helping everyone put change into action today.” Like achieving anything in life, creating an inclusive culture won’t happen unless concerted efforts are made each day; it’s not simply about providing information.

Traditional unconscious bias training, with its emphasis on raising awareness, might have a part to play in creating a more inclusive culture. However, this alone will do little to create genuine, lasting, change.  For lessons learnt from training not to be simply forgotten, employees need actionable recommendations on a daily basis.

Was this article helpful?

What's Hot

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...

Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. A...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments 26 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...

The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the da...

View event
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Talent Development Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

1y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. I...

View resource
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...

We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain 3 March 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...

We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work a...

View event
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

Leadership Development Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

1y Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...

HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy...

View article
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...

Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wide...

View event
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

Digital HR Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

1y Leah Belsky

Digital transformation investment grows but critic...

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report pr...

View article
Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement

Employee Engagement Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement

1y Alara Basul | Sponsored

Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successf...

Remote working has impacted the way we communicate as a workforce, but striking the right balance be...

View article
How to create a company culture capable of empowering the modern workforce

Culture How to create a company culture capable of empowering the modern workforce

1y Alara Basul | Sponsored

How to create a company culture capable of empower...

While new working patterns that emerged from the pandemic have earned a permanent spot in the w...

View article
WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace

Leadership Learnings WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace

1y Amy Kirkham

WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid wo...

Alison Noon-Jones, VP of People & Culture at Leidos UK & Europe, shares how crucial employee engagem...

View article
Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership

Leadership Development Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership

1y Terence Mauri

Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your...

HRD thought leader and Hack Future Lab founder Terence Mauri sets out why the biggest risk to leader...

View article

Comments are closed.

What's Hot

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...

Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. A...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments 26 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...

The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the da...

View event
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Talent Development Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

1y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. I...

View resource
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...

We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain 3 March 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...

We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work a...

View event
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

Leadership Development Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

1y Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...

HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy...

View article
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making 5 May 2022

1y

HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...

Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wide...

View event
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

Digital HR Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

1y Leah Belsky

Digital transformation investment grows but critic...

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report pr...

View article