On helping college students/grads understand bias.
I've written about bias in the workplace once before here : (https://rahulporuri.blogspot.in/2016/12/on-bias-at-work.html). I mentioned about how I wished that we were made aware of the various implicit biases we have, as we entered the professional sector, especially because most of us we dealt with a variety of clients, all of us worked with a variety of people and some of us were also involved in choosing new colleagues. The spectrum of people we interact with on a day-to-day basis at work is why I feel the need to educate college graduates of their implicit biases.
Now, the question is, how do we educate college students about their implicit biases? One thing that I could think of was to put the students through tests aimed at bringing out these implicit biases. What better way to educate a student than to put a mirror in front of him and help him understand what he is seeing.
I haven't looked up what exactly these tests/questionaires are that help us understand implicit biases. I'll get back to you on that. If you know of any such tests, do tell me. And if you think that this whole exercise is moot, help me understand why that is so.
Now, the question is, how do we educate college students about their implicit biases? One thing that I could think of was to put the students through tests aimed at bringing out these implicit biases. What better way to educate a student than to put a mirror in front of him and help him understand what he is seeing.
I haven't looked up what exactly these tests/questionaires are that help us understand implicit biases. I'll get back to you on that. If you know of any such tests, do tell me. And if you think that this whole exercise is moot, help me understand why that is so.