What is inclusive culture?
Inclusive culture
Before we can create an inclusive culture, we need to understand the concept of unconscious or implicit bias. Neuroscience shows that our brains process and organize endless amounts of information. Conscious processing is estimated at around 40 pieces of information per second. In stark comparison, the brain can categorize and format approximately 11 million points of information without awareness.
What is unconscious bias?
Unconscious bias is activated when we have to make immediate decisions and judgments that are either familiar or new to us. This situation can happen automatically without you being aware of it. Examples of where unconscious bias occurs in the workplace include areas like disability, ethnicity, sexuality, body size, and gender. Take this example: you're in the doctor's office when a male and female walk into the room dressed in medical scrubs. You begin to address the male about your health query, only to learn that the female is actually the doctor.
Challenges with unconscious bias
Unconscious bias creates many problems. Businesses can be impacted by inadvertently creating embarrassing situations that might alienate customers or lead to costly mistakes. Inside companies, unintentionally overlooking different inputs can occur without conscious awareness. In this scenario, a request is made for immediate contribution during a team meeting to guide the next project steps. There's pressure to respond immediately, which might only be comfortable for specific individuals in the room. If someone needs more time to formulate a thoughtful response to an inquiry, impactful feedback could be missed.
The first step to reducing and eliminating this challenge is to learn about the different forms of unconscious bias. This step provides the opportunity to reflect on, and gain awareness of, our own bias. With this information in hand, the next step is to look outward to the business. Seek areas where your organization might be influenced by bias, then take steps to remove those challenges.
Tools to address unconscious bias
There are many tools to use and approaches to take to recognize and remove unconscious bias. Then there will be space for inclusivity to grow and flourish. For instance, we might use data to help inform and guide toward creating a more heterogeneous environment. Becoming curious about your internal processes and structures supports gaining new insights. By employing inclusive behaviors, each individual can make a difference in the workplace. Ask questions, listen, and seek to understand instead of making assumptions. Ensure all voices are heard and attempt to address misunderstandings and resolve disagreements. Seek input from people with varied backgrounds and try to understand individuals' contributions.
Though this approach might feel uncomfortable and awkward at times, be brave, and rest assured that the results are unmistakable.
Creating an inclusive culture invites a dialog of constant curiosity where learning and adapting can foster an environment in which all employees feel more supported and empowered to contribute their own diverse experiences and perspectives. The result is an organization whose individuals are much more thoughtful about each other and encouraged to innovate.