The Unconscious Bias Masterclass
CMFT Medical Educators’ Conference
23rd April 2015
Mags Bradbury
Associate Director Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Explicit & Implicit Bias
• Explicit Bias – views and opinions we are
consciously aware of, we may not be open and
honest but we are aware of them.
• Implicit Bias – views and opinions we may not
be aware of. These are often less
hidden/controlled as they are triggered when
we encounter different people and situations.
Awareness of Explicit & Implicit bias
• What’s your favourite piece of music?
• If we were to look at your ipod for most
played track what would it be?
THE STROOP TEST
Word Set 1
RED
GREEN
BLUE
YELLOW
ORANGE
BLUE
GREEN
BLUE
GREEN
YELLOW
ORANGE
WHITE
PINK
BROWN
RED
BLUE
YELLOW
GREEN
PINK
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
RED
WHITE
BLUE
THE STROOP TEST
Word Set 2
RED
GREEN
BLUE
YELLOW
PINK
ORANGE
BLUE
GREEN
BLUE
WHITE
GREEN
YELLOW
ORANGE
BLUE
WHITE
BROWN
RED
BLUE
YELLOW
GREEN
PINK
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
RED
Cognitive processing
Cognitive Bias
Count
the number of passes
made by the team in white
Cognitive Bias
Mental Processing
• Fast, Automatic, Frequent, Emotional,
Subconscious
• Slow, Effortful , Infrequent, Logical,
Calculating, Conscious
Word Association
Exercise
Implicit Bias
Influenced by:
• Information processing short cuts –
intuition/common sense based on what we think
we know
• Emotional factors – own personal experience
• Social influences
• Debate around awareness (Unconscious v Implicit)
Our subconscious influences the way we
make sense of the world around us…
Types of Implicit/Cognitive Bias
• Stereotypes
• Affinity Bias – favour others whom we share
certain characteristics (mini-me syndrome)
• Self fulfilling prophecy – confirm hidden bias
• Unconscious Organisations – the way we do
things around here
Stereotypes
Stereotypes
NB – The
language used is
from an
American study
in 2002 and uses
terminology
(retarded ) that
is not acceptable
in the UK
Affinity Bias/ Mini Me
“Frankly, Dinsdale we like the look of you.”
Self Fulfilling Prophecy
Case Study:
Teachers were told arbitrarily that random
students were "going to blossom.”
Those random students actually ended the year
with significantly greater improvements.
Unconscious Organisation
Bias within the NHS
• What examples of bias are you aware of people acting on in
the NHS?
• What impact do these biases have?
• What can you do to reduce the impact of these biases?
• Where are the opportunities for bias in Medical Education?
• Test yourself: –
Harvard University Implicit Association Test –
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/takeatest.html
Common Opportunities for Bias
• Selection Panels
• Recruitment – application and interview
•
•
•
•
Appraisal & Promotion
Project Allocation
Invites for speakers
Research – the researcher and the field of people
in the study
• Stressful situations makes it worse – word
association game/stroop test
Recruitment by Ethnicity
2013/14
Trends
Ethnicity
Applied
Shortlisted
Offered
White British
57%
65%
70%
BME
42%
33%
25%
Not Known
1%
2%
5%
Ethnicity
Applied
Shortlisted
Offered
White British
57%
67%
69%
BME
41%
31%
25%
Not Known
2%
2%
6%
Ethnicity
Applied
Shortlisted
Offered
White British
56%
67%
68%
BME
40%
30%
25%
Not Known
4%
3%
7%
2012/13
2011/12
• At 25%, BME appointments in 2013/14
stayed the same as in 2012/13.
• The drop from applications to offered in
2013/14 for BME applicants was almost
the same as in 2012/13.
• Over the last three years, the gap from
shortlisted to offered has stayed almost
the same for both White British and
BME applicants.
Recruitment - Gender
2013/14
Trends
Gender
Applied
Shortlisted
Offered
Female
73%
77%
78%
Male
27%
22%
18%
Not known
0%
1%
4%
Gender
Applied
Shortlisted
Offered
Female
73%
78%
76%
Male
26%
21%
19%
Not known
1%
1%
5%
Gender
Applied
Shortlisted
Offered
Female
72%
76%
73%
Male
27%
22%
21%
Not known
1%
2%
6%
2012/13
2011/12
• The percentage of male applicants who
were offered jobs dropped in comparison
to their applications percentage. However
the drop from shortlisted to offered is very
small.
• Over the last three years, the gap from
shortlisted to offered has stayed almost the
same for male applicants.
Overriding Unconscious Bias
• Be motivated to control bias
• Be aware of the potential for bias
• Take the time to consider individual characteristics and avoid stereotyped
evaluations
• Monitor – know the data and trends
• Open and transparent decision making
• Create a culture where people feel comfortable to debate and challenge
• Inclusive Chairing
• Role models/images
Summary
• Implicit bias is distinct from conscious motivation
• We all have these biases due to cultural exposure
• They can affect behavior unless we override them
• They can be changed with education, exposure and
processes
We can change it!
• From 1930 to 1970 (40 years) 14,000 women
graduated from Medical school in the US
• From 1970 to 1980 (10 years) 20,000 women
graduated from medical school
Impact:
Changes in pelvic and breast examinations
(Still some way to go – while women account for up to
59% of the medical workforce, they account for just 28%
of consultants)
What will you do differently?
Any Questions?