Challenges in STEM Diversity and Implicit Bias
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Teams and institutions benefit from diversity
•
Talent is distributed equally, access and opportunity are not
•
Individual STEMM professionals from historically excluded
groups continue to be less likely to be successfully
integrated into STEMM environments
•
Generally, individuals from under-represented groups
receive less mentorship or attention than their well-
represented peers.
•
Data from many sciences support the long-standing recognition by
psychologists and other social scientists that humans make systematic
errors in judgement
•
The human brain has evolved mechanisms to deal with the massive data
provided by the senses
•
Much human brain development occurs after birth, influenced by the
environment it is embedded in
•
That these mechanisms are the result of evolution does not mean that we
cannot change behavior as needed in response to challenges in our world
•
Scientists in the natural sciences have been particularly resistant to the
notion that unconscious mental processes affect their decisions
Implicit Bias: A Summary
Implicit Bias: A Summary
Implicit Gender Biases Favor Male Students
Implicit Gender Biases Favor Male Students
Evaluation of male and female candidates with identical CV’s
“…faculty members of both genders
appear to be affected by enduring
cultural stereotypes about women’s
lack of science competence that
translate into biases in student
evaluation and mentoring.”
Moss-Racusin et al, PNAS 2012
Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, Handelsman.
PNAS 2012
Adapted from Shepard, Mindsights, 1990
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Implicit Bias Stems from Associative Errors
Implicit Bias Stems from Associative Errors
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Reflexive associative thinking that results from our cultural milieu
•
May be counter to what we believe about ourselves
•
Mental content of which we are unaware
•
Shared by all members of the culture
•
Hidden (implicit) biases can guide behavior without our awareness
•
Good people well intentioned, strive to align behavior with intentions,
but often fail
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
NASEM Webinar: The Science of Implicit Bias: Implications for Law and Policy
https://vimeo.com/showcase/8500358
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“We put down briefly in Khartoum, where we changed to an Ethiopian
Airways flight to Addis.
Here I experienced a rather strange sensation.
As I was boarding the plane, I saw that the pilot was black.
I had never seen a black pilot before,
and the instant I did, I had to quell my panic.
How could a black man fly an airplane?”
Two Systems of Thinking
Two Systems of Thinking
Fast, Automatic, Intuitive, or System One
•
Operates automatically, unconsciously, rapidly
•
Requires little or no effort
•
No voluntary control, freewheeling
•
Active all the time
•
Any information automatically triggers related
information
Slow, Deliberate, Controlled, or System Two
•
Allocates attention to effortful mental activities
•
Requires energy
•
Orderly, deliberative
•
Normally operates in comfortable, low effort mode
•
Generally accepts System 1 suggestions
•
Treatment of Native Americans by
Spanish, English, French
•
Enslavement of African peoples
•
Chinese laborers on Transcontinental
railroad
•
Internment of Japanese during WWII
•
Residential Segregation
•
Unequal access to education, jobs,
medical care, safety
•
Disproportionate arrest and
incarceration of Black and Brown people
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Osta & Vasquez, 2019 www.NationalEquityProject.org Icons from TheNounProject.com
•
Harsher punishment for students of color than
for white students for the same behavior
•
Black students more likely to be viewed as
angry when they are debating or commenting
•
We may be unwilling or uncomfortable raising
current issues or events that affect PEERs
(People Excluded because of Ethnicity or
Race*)
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Kubota J. NASEM webinar on the Science of Implicit Bias. 22Mar1921
https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/01-12-2021/the-science-
of-implicit-bias-implications-for-law-and-policy-a-workshop
*Asai. Race Matters. Cell 181:754, 2020
If we don’t acknowledge
our implicit biases
they will direct our choices
and we will call it fate
Paraphrase of Carl Jung
Selected References
•
Some selected references are pictured in the next 2 slides
•
All publications from the National Academies Press can be downloaded as a PDF for free
•
Thinking, Fast and Slow
is very readable but is a very dense and long.
•
You can get a great and entertaining synopsis of Kahneman’s book in
The Undoing Project
by Michael Lewis, who wrote
Moneyball
.
•
Blind Spot
is the definitive work
on implicit biases. It is a thorough but somewhat academic
in tone. It was written by the people who introduced the term “implicit bias” and
developed the implicit association test.
•
Whistling Vivaldi
shows the consequences when individuals from marginalized groups
internalize cultural implicit biases.
•
Thinking Race
is a short (136 pages) highly readable book that spans human evolution to
the current day and provides a succinct and dispassionate summary of the social myths
and biological realities around race. Goldsby is an immunologist and entrepreneur, and
Bateson is an anthropologist.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
www.nap.edu
I’m happy to answer additional questions at LVK@IntersectionsSBD.com
Teams and institutions benefit from diversity, yet individuals from historically excluded groups face obstacles in STEM environments. Implicit biases, gender biases, and perceptual errors influence decision-making and behavior. Addressing these issues is crucial for promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities in science and business.
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Presentation Transcript
The Current Reality The Current Reality Teams and institutions benefit from diversity Talent is distributed equally, access and opportunity are not Individual STEMM professionals from historically excluded groups continue to be less likely to be successfully integrated into STEMM environments Generally, individuals from under-represented groups receive less mentorship or attention than their well- represented peers. INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Implicit Bias: A Summary Data from many sciences support the long-standing recognition by psychologists and other social scientists that humans make systematic errors in judgement The human brain has evolved mechanisms to deal with the massive data provided by the senses Much human brain development occurs after birth, influenced by the environment it is embedded in That these mechanisms are the result of evolution does not mean that we cannot change behavior as needed in response to challenges in our world Scientists in the natural sciences have been particularly resistant to the notion that unconscious mental processes affect their decisions INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Implicit Gender Biases Favor Male Students Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, Handelsman. PNAS 2012 faculty members of both genders appear to be affected by enduring cultural stereotypes about women s lack of science competence that translate into biases in student evaluation and mentoring. Moss-Racusin et al, PNAS 2012 Female (Jennifer) Male (John) Evaluation of male and female candidates with identical CV s INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Optical Illusions are Perceptual Errors Optical Illusions are Perceptual Errors Adapted from Shepard, Mindsights, 1990 INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Implicit Bias Stems from Associative Errors Reflexive associative thinking that results from our cultural milieu May be counter to what we believe about ourselves Mental content of which we are unaware Shared by all members of the culture Hidden (implicit) biases can guide behavior without our awareness Good people well intentioned, strive to align behavior with intentions, but often fail https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ NASEM Webinar: The Science of Implicit Bias: Implications for Law and Policy https://vimeo.com/showcase/8500358 INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Implicit Bias: an Example Implicit Bias: an Example We put down briefly in Khartoum, where we changed to an Ethiopian Airways flight to Addis. Here I experienced a rather strange sensation. As I was boarding the plane, I saw that the pilot was black. I had never seen a black pilot before, and the instant I did, I had to quell my panic. How could a black man fly an airplane? Nelson Mandela From: Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Little, Brown and Company. INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Two Systems of Thinking Fast, Automatic, Intuitive, or System One Operates automatically, unconsciously, rapidly Requires little or no effort No voluntary control, freewheeling Active all the time Any information automatically triggers related information Slow, Deliberate, Controlled, or System Two Allocates attention to effortful mental activities Requires energy Orderly, deliberative Normally operates in comfortable, low effort mode Generally accepts System 1 suggestions INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Relationship between Structural Racism Relationship between Structural Racism and Implicit Biases and Implicit Biases Treatment of Native Americans by Spanish, English, French Enslavement of African peoples Chinese laborers on Transcontinental railroad Internment of Japanese during WWII Residential Segregation Unequal access to education, jobs, medical care, safety Disproportionate arrest and incarceration of Black and Brown people Osta & Vasquez, 2019 www.NationalEquityProject.org Icons from TheNounProject.com INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Relationship between Structural Racism Relationship between Structural Racism and Implicit Biases and Implicit Biases Harsher punishment for students of color than for white students for the same behavior Black students more likely to be viewed as angry when they are debating or commenting We may be unwilling or uncomfortable raising current issues or events that affect PEERs (People Excluded because of Ethnicity or Race*) Kubota J. NASEM webinar on the Science of Implicit Bias. 22Mar1921 https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/01-12-2021/the-science- of-implicit-bias-implications-for-law-and-policy-a-workshop *Asai. Race Matters. Cell 181:754, 2020 INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
If we dont acknowledge our implicit biases they will direct our choices and we will call it fate Paraphrase of Carl Jung INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
Selected References Some selected references are pictured in the next 2 slides All publications from the National Academies Press can be downloaded as a PDF for free Thinking, Fast and Slow is very readable but is a very dense and long. You can get a great and entertaining synopsis of Kahneman s book in The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis, who wrote Moneyball. Blind Spot is the definitive work on implicit biases. It is a thorough but somewhat academic in tone. It was written by the people who introduced the term implicit bias and developed the implicit association test. Whistling Vivaldi shows the consequences when individuals from marginalized groups internalize cultural implicit biases. Thinking Race is a short (136 pages) highly readable book that spans human evolution to the current day and provides a succinct and dispassionate summary of the social myths and biological realities around race. Goldsby is an immunologist and entrepreneur, and Bateson is an anthropologist. INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS www.nap.edu INTERSECTIONS SCIENCE BUSINESS DIVERSITY
