Respond to two of your colleagues that contain a perspective other than yours. Your response will typically be 2-3 paragraphs in length, as a general expectation. View Two (2) of

Respond to two of your colleagues’ that contain a perspective other than yours. Your response will typically be 2–3 paragraphs in length, as a general expectation.

View Two (2) of Colleagues’ discussions
Share an insight about what you learned from having read your colleagues’ postings and discuss how and why your colleague’s posting resonated with you professionally and personally. (Note: This may be a great opportunity to help you think about passions you share with your colleagues
Offer an example from your experience or observation that validates what your colleague discussed.
Offer specific suggestions that will help your colleague build upon his or her perceptions as a leader.
Offer further assessment from having read your colleague’s post that could impact a leader’s effectiveness.
Share how something your colleague discussed changed the way you consider your own qualities.

· No plagiarism

Discussion : Bias and You

Unconscious bias is ubiquitous. In this course, you've had an opportunity to examine the ways that unconscious bias affects people.

Assignment:

Respond to two of your colleagues’ that contain a perspective other than yours. Your response will typically be 2–3 paragraphs in length, as a general expectation.

· View Two (2) of Colleagues’ discussions “See below”

· Share an insight about what you learned from having read your colleagues’ postings and discuss how and why your colleague’s posting resonated with you professionally and personally. (Note: This may be a great opportunity to help you think about passions you share with your colleagues

· Offer an example from your experience or observation that validates what your colleague discussed.

· Offer specific suggestions that will help your colleague build upon his or her perceptions as a leader.

· Offer further assessment from having read your colleague’s post that could impact a leader’s effectiveness.

· Share how something your colleague discussed changed the way you consider your own qualities.

· No plagiarism

1st Colleague – Kimberly B

In a previous job there was what I would describe as an unconscious bias against parents, and in particular working parents who are women. While it was never spoken that a parent or a mom couldn't make a good employee, there were several statements and actions taken that had that clear perception. This mainly came from male leaders in the company who would complain about associates who weren't willing to "go the extra mile of working weekends, nights, without time off." They would stage "all-hands on deck" last-minute asks such as "I need you to get to work on Sat afternoon" with almost no notice. Or comments like "I guess anyone who isn't willing to start their day at 6 am isn't that serious about the job."

They spent additional time after work in bars, casinos, etc. when it wouldn't be convenient for a parent to attend what was usually a last minute gathering. And the men who attended these events, and the few women who were mostly childless, were also those who tended to receive upward promotions. There was no empathy, and almost all of these male managers had stay at home wives (not signifcant others, always wives who didn't work."

They also had what they call "butts in seats" which was a statement that if they couldn't see butts in seats early in the morning and early in the evening they weren't doing their jobs. They implied anyone who they couldn't see couldn't possibly be working. They even did "the walk" to see the faithful (men and few women) who were still there. It had a huge chilling effect on people embracing parenthood, talking about their kids at work, and even having kids in many situations. It held careers back and ultimately hurt the organization because it promoted the same kind of person in leadership – white male cisgender with stay at home wife. Top of Form

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2nd Colleague –Corbin W

The example that comes to mind is from a recent experience in my workgroup. Forgive me if I paraphrase some of the dialogue, but in my workgroup, our team had been brainstorming ideas on how to better involve our clients in a project we were currently working on. One member of our team, a black woman named Alyssa, suggested that we have an info session where we walk the client through our current process so they know our timeline and when to expect deliverables. She made this suggestion towards the end of our meeting and our manager, a white man, somewhat dismissed the idea saying “that’s interesting, we can circle back on that.” A couple meetings went by and we never discussed the idea again or came back to it. I found it odd that Alyssa never suggested it again, but I’m now realizing that Alyssa had likely internalized this manager’s biases towards her as she often did not volunteer ideas and the one time she did, it was shot down and not considered. She’d been socialized to hold back contributions.

A few weeks later, we were in a meeting and troubleshooting the same issue when a white male coworker suggested that we have an informational session with our client to bring them up to speed on our timeline. Our manager said “that’s a great idea, let’s look into it.” I’m not sure if this coworker genuinely thought the idea was his or had subconsciously taken what Alyssa had suggested weeks ago and regurgitated it. I chimed in to say “I support that idea, and I think Alyssa actually suggested something similar to this weeks ago. I wonder if she has any more thoughts on how to execute this.” Thankfully, this gave Alyssa the floor and she was able to share step by step what she had initially thought would be the best approach all along. It’s mindboggling to me how oblivious someone can be to a stolen idea when their unconscious biases go unchecked.

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ILRDI002: Counteracting Unconscious Bias Cornell University ILR School

Check Your Privilege

Are there privileges that you enjoy within the workplace, perhaps without being aware of it?

Review each of the statements provided and indicate whether you can count on this privilege at

work. What does this tell you about the privileges that attach to different categories of people?

Privilege Statements: Answer "Yes" or "No"

1. I can count on looking at the top level of management in most organizations in my country and seeing people (i.e., more than just a “token” individual) who belong to my identity group.

Yes __ If so, which of your identities affords you that privilege?