Group-01

Aadhar | Karthika | Prudvi | Gaurang | Aditi | Pranav

“There is no neutral. There is only greater or lesser awareness of one’s bias.”

- Phyllis Rose.

No matter how self-aware we may feel — we all have biases. They are often ingrained for many
years or instilled as the result of a single event. Reality is we have them and engage them in
influencing our decision making every day. Unconscious bias sits at the centre of many highly
debated issues in our lives — gender equality, racial divides, ageism, sexual orientation, weight — to
name just a few.

Unconscious bias essentially refers to the fact that people can unintentionally discriminate against
others, or have prejudicial beliefs they are not necessarily aware of. However, since researchers
found a way to measure unconscious bias, it is now possible to increase this awareness.

Remarkably, studies have shown that the average person processes around 11 million pieces of
information every second. Yet, we only process around 40 of those on a conscious level. You could
therefore say that 99.999 percent of the information we take in gets processed unconsciously, and
this would include our unconscious biases — the automatic associations we make based on
accumulated information, such as associating black people with weapons and danger.

The unconscious biases are typically expressed and observed in the work place environment. This
reflective video has been scripted to illustrate the effect of unconscious bias on the work place
dynamics. The video has been made keeping in foresight the Indian mindset. The reflective video is
aimed at making you aware of some of the common biases we may come across in organisations. To
eliminate all of them is extremely difficult. But awareness leads to the start of the journey towards
change. And, change occurs when the mind is moulded on the anvil of our thoughts.

Photo: Matteo Paganelli (Unsplash)

Our reflective video talks about 4 specific unconscious biases which are very common place in any
organisation:

1. TO THINK women dress up to impress the boss/colleagues IS A BIAS

2. TO THINK people use regional connect at the work place to pull favours IS A BIAS
3. TO THINK differently abled people always require sympathy IS A BIAS
4. TO THINK young people don’t take their work seriously IS A BIAS

A disharmony is created within a team when these biases cloud your decision. To bring your best
personal self to work, there should an environment of safety and inclusion. This is disrupted when
unconscious bias creeps into your conversation making the other person feel judged and
stereotyped.

The video is our humble effort to urge everyone to Introspect, Identify and Eliminate your own
unconscious biases (at least the ones you are aware of!) Take conscious steps towards avoiding
discrimination and biases at your work place. Actively increase your exposure to biases. The more
you can identify, the more you can eliminate!

This is Team 01 signing off. Hope you enjoy our video!