Sources/Resources Diversity and Inclusion

Videos (TED talks etc.):

  • Adapted by Professor Uta Frith DBE FBA FMedSci FRS from guidance issued to recruitment panels by the Scottish Government – Understanding unconscious bias (3 min.)

Description: This animation and briefing on unconscious bias adapted by Professor Uta Frith DBE FBA FMedSci FRS introduce the key concepts and current academic research around unconscious bias with the aim of alerting Royal Society selection and appointment panel members to potential biases that can arise when making judgments or decisions.

 

  • Texas McCombs School of Business – Implicit Bias | Concepts Unwrapped (8 min.)

Description: Implicit bias exists when people unconsciously hold attitudes toward others or associate stereotypes with them.

 

  • Author, speaker and CEO, Valerie Alexander – How to outsmart your own unconscious bias (17 min.)

Description: The human brain is a remarkable achievement in evolution. Unfortunately, the brain activity that kept the human species alive for millions of years is the same brain activity that keep us from achieving equality today. Valerie explains how the human brain instinctively reacts when encountering the unexpected, like saber-toothed tigers or female tech execs, and proposes that if we have the courage to examine our own behavior when faced with the unfamiliar, we can take control of our expectations, and by doing so, change the world.

 

  • Melinda Epler – 3 ways to be a better ally in the workplace (9 min.)

Description: We’re taught to believe that hard work and dedication will lead to success, but that’s not always the case. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation are among the many factors that affect our chances, says writer and advocate Melinda Epler, and it’s up to each of us to be allies for those who face discrimination. In this actionable talk, Epler shares three ways to support people who are underrepresented in the workplace. ”There’s no magic wand for correcting diversity and inclusion,” she says. ”Change happens one person at a time, one act at a time, one word at a time.”

 

 

Texts (including longer articles, short chronicles, etc.):

Description: White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. This paper explicates the dynamics of White Fragility.

 

Description: To understand how sexism works, to ask why sexism remains stubbornly persistent in shaping worlds, determining possibilities, deciding futures, despite decades of feminist activism, is to work out and to work through the very mechanics of power. Sexism seems to operate as a well-oiled machine that runs all the more smoothly and efficiently for being in constant use. In this special issue we reflect on how and why sexism remains so persistent without isolating sexism from other machineries of power. It takes conscious willed effort not to reproduce sexism. This special issue is part of this effort.

 

Description: How to Have Impossible Conversations Book Summary about becoming a better communicator with others. It is incredibly practical and will leave you with soo many ideas on how you can improve the conversations in your life.

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