Reducing Unconscious Bias
A Resource For Hiring Committee Members, Spring 2009
Las Positas College
This resource was developed by members of The Campus Change Network. We hope you find it useful. Use of this resource isvoluntary. If you have any feedback, suggestions, comments please post them to the CCN blog. We will be soliciting feedback as wedevelop/refine this resource.http://campuschangenetworklaspositascollege.blogspot.com/
Un-com-scoius:
not perceived at the level of awareness; occurring below the level of conscious thought
Bi-as:
a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question
Unconscious Bias
Participating in the hiring process for staff, faculty, and administrators is one of the most important ways we canserve our students and the larger college community. It is a responsibility and an obligation and we take it veryseriously. Las Positas College is committed to processes that encourage and promote diversity, equity, andinclusion – all essential to a healthy, vibrant, and dynamic institution.These processes should assure prospective employees that their appropriately completed applications areappreciated and valued and that they are given full, fair, and impartial consideration by the hiring committees.In order to guarantee that fairness and impartiality are maintained throughout all phases of the process, there are anumber of things committees should be cognizant of and monitor for as they work - individually and together as acommittee. First and foremost, committee members must recognize the potential for the unconscious bias thatoften influences them as they proceed. All of us have natural, built-in biases. We are biased about the things thatmake us feel comfortable. Biases are not necessarily bad unless they prevent us from being open to “new anddifferent” perspectives or prevent us from discarding the stereotypes and prejudices we have held about others –notions and apprehensions that have no basis in reality. These biases are most often unconscious and they have thepower to negatively affect relationships – long and short term, formal and informal. Recognizing andunderstanding these biases are essential to building the kind of college community we seek and to hiringemployees who can contribute to it.Many feel most comfortable interacting with people who are just like themselves. They look for and favorapplicants who will be a “good fit”, that is, those that help to create a seamless homogeneity. For instance, on anapplication: a person’s name, where a person lives, the schools a person attended, the places a person has workedor taught previously – one or all of these might cause someone to wonder if this person would be a “good fit”.Likewise, during an interview, committees might be uncomfortable with the way candidates dress, or speak, orhow much time it takes them to answer a question, or how they regard the committee, or how formal or informalcandidates may appear or, even, their physical appearance. Few would say that these things caused them concern,but they are concerns for them, nonetheless.All of us must be willing to be honest in reviewing applications and in interviewing candidates. We need toaddress unconscious biases directly and with conviction. We must be able to verbalize the concerns we have, notignore them or pretend that our concerns don’t exist. By addressing the concerns “head on”, everyone benefits;everyone learns and grows from these experiences and our students and our institution benefit most of all.
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