The concept of “unconscious bias “ is part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) training package about to be offered to all members of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) delivered by Hamza Egal, the newly appointed Humanist and EDI Officer.
Where does this concept come from ?
A Critical Social Justice (CSJ) concept, “ unconscious bias” is associated with a core belief that we are all unavoidably socialised into very specific forms of identity-based prejudices which we are not aware of.
This ideology – now dominant within the GPEW – relies on the idea that our society is made up of various forms of oppressive power systems such as white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia etc.. which operate relentlessly to disadvantage minorities whilst remaining hidden.
US sociologist Di Angelo, author of bestselling book “ White Fragility: Why It’s So hard for White People to Talk About Racism “ (2018) and a leading figure in “antiracism” unconscious bias training is founded on the following assumptions:
- Racism is a multilayered system embedded in our culture
- All of us are socialised into the system of racism
- Whites have blind spots on racism, and I have blind spots on racism
- Bias is implicit and unconscious; I don’t expect to be aware of mine without a lot of ongoing efforts.
There is no possibility therefore with Di Angelo CSJ devotees for any white person to disagree with having deeply entrenched negative thinking about black people since it rests within their unconscious minds. Any such disagreement has to be dismissed because of ignorance due to a failing to engage with the training programme, or that such individuals are invested in maintaining their “white privilege”.
As for People of Colour who may object to being considered as harbouring racial prejudices, they will be accused by CSJ’s trainers to having internalised white supremacy or attempt to ingratiate themselves with the dominant white population.
How does unconscious bias training work ?
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) developed in 1998 by Anthony G. Greenwwald and researchers from Harvard University is still widely used to seek to reveal racism from the unconscious. What the test does is measure the reaction times of people associating positive words or negative words to binary categories like “ black “ and “ white “, “ transgender people “ and “cisgender people “, straight “ or “ gay “, “ fat “ or “ thin” , “ young” or “ old” etc… The speed of the response in associating positivity or negativity with faces connected with these categories, it is argued, indicate a positive or negative bias towards people of that race, gender, sexuality , size or age.
Such tests generally end with a number of exercises through which participants are expected to identify unconscious bias – and related microaggressions – with hypothetical scenarios designed to bring out an awareness of what are assumed to be their bias because of their identities.
Why is the IAT test flawed ?
Unconscious bias is real. We all have biases and changing our minds is tough. But approaches to understanding unconscious bias cannot be based on assumptions because of any arbitrary notions of “identity”.
A valid approach ought instead to allow for universal cognitive biased and the impact of individual experience, environment and cultural background, and not sweeping generalisations about oppressive power structures as defined by one specific ideology.
Why bias unconscious training does not work ?
Leading researchers into diversity training, sociologist Frank Dobbin of Harvard University and Alexandrea Kalev of Tel Aviv University find that “while people are easily taught to respond correctly to a questionnaire about bias, they soon forget the “right “ answers “ and conclude that the positive effects of such training rarely last beyond a day or two. They note: “ As our systematic review reveals many interventions have no effect” and warn : “or may even increase implicit biases”.
Organisational psychologist Thomas-Chamorro-Premuzic also observed that there is a low correlation between attitudes and behaviour and writes:” Contrary to what unconscious bias training programs would suggest, people are largely aware of their biases, attitudes and beliefs, particularly when they concern stereotypes and prejudices”. He suggests that ”this is why you should just ask if you want to find out what people think about something” and concludes “ Generally speaking, people are not just conscious of their biases, but also quite proud of them”.
Unconscious bias training as a waste of money which destroys team work
As the outcome of Stonewall’s Champion Diverse Matters in their EDI audit report, The Executive has decided that members of the party will now be asked to assess their thoughts and behaviour for evidence of bias and embark on the party’s “unconscious bias” training programme.
For all the reasons given above, such programme is not only be a waste of money because of flaws in its GSJ approach, but also because it is likely to increase stereotyping and therefore lead to the tiny minority of members who may possibly hold racist or other prejudiced ideas to confirm and justify their beliefs.
Generally, people tend to resist any training that appears to try and exert control over their thoughts and beliefs. Green Party members will be no exception and are actually most likley to react badly to such probing.
These programs also do create anxiety, resentment and ultimately alienation, regardless of race, sex or any other personal characteristic. They can create a strong sense of self-consciousness amongst participants, end up with a loss confidence and a loss of team spirit and cohesion.
In other words, “unconscious bias” training is everything the Green Party is pretty much meant to be against. Can this Critical Social Justice ideologically driven programme be stopped and replaced by something more like a serious cultural awareness programme instead ? One can dream…
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