We at Ethics Matter often focus more on the “how our brains work” part during our anti-sexual harassment trainings. Unconscious bias plays a pivotal role in #sexualharassment investigations. More often than not, we want the victim to portray typical victim behaviour and characteristics to qualify as a genuine complainant. Similarly, we always almost subconsciously frame a picture of how an accused would look like and how they would behave.
However, as an Internal Committee member, being aware of our biases and putting them on table not only help us become more equitable but can also help other members to call us out when they feel our #biases are clouding our judgment.
Here is a tool that allows each of us to discover hidden cognitive bias. Most people are aware of their own overt biases, but it is very difficult for us to become aware of our covert biases. This is a test that can be taken by each individual for their own benefit. Implicit Association Test (IAT) is excellent for showing how our #implicitbias drives our day to day decision making.
This tool was developed by a group of researchers from Harvard University and has proven validity.