Can You Spot a Bias?
What Is “Guerilla Bias”™?

Bias = An inflexible belief about a particular category of people.

Which, if any, of these people are guilty of bias? I don’t mean “might” be biased or “suspected” of bias, but absolutely, positively guilty?:

• Case 1: Juan, a fifty-year old manager, had occasion to interview a woman named Nancy who, at the time of their meeting, was in her mid-twenties. After the interview, Juan said to his boss, “I’d like to hire her, but we need someone willing to commit for the long run. Nancy has quit jobs four good jobs since college. She seems to conform to what some people think is true of her generation.
  
  
• Case 2: It was the end of a long day at the diversity conference and she was tired and ready to relax. Figuring that most of the people she knew would be in the hotel restaurant, she walked in hoping to hook up with a dinner companion or two. Upon entering the room, she was glad to see that it was filled with conference attendees. There was one problem, however: Her friends were scattered between two large tables. At one table, everyone was white – like her; at the other, everyone was black. Because she knew the folks at both tables equally well, she was faced with a dilemma. Where does she sit? If she where honest, she would admit that her natural impulse was to go to the white table; a little more familiarity, a little more comfort. She finally made her decision and walked over and took a seat at the table with the folks who looked most like her.
  
  
• Case 3: Ayana, an immigrant from Ethiopia, had been working at the department store for only three months. One morning, she was approached by a tall blond woman who asked her to find a particular item in another size. Upon returning from her quest, Ayana walked up to the wrong customer and said that the size was unavailable. The woman looked at Ayana blankly; Ayana had mistaken one white woman for another.
  
  
• Case 4: When Harry heard his new neighbors speaking English with a Spanish accent, he assumed that, since everyone else in his neighborhood had immigrated from Baja, they were also from Mexico. In a gesture of welcome, he packaged up some homemade chocolate chip cookies, knocked on the door, and made awkward conversation beginning with, "I see you are from Mexico. How long have been in this country?”The couple became angry and quickly pointed out that they were from Argentina, not Mexico. When Harry tried to apologize for his error, the neighbors seemed a little embarrassed by their strong reaction and said, “Sorry to be so abrupt, but we hate it when people think we are in this country illegally.”
  
  
• Case 5: Being a life-long lover of the blues, Mary was thrilled to be invited to a concert presented by her favorite artists. Upon arriving at the venue, she made her way to her seat which was next to the only white person in the audience. At the end of each concert, the musicians had a tradition of inviting the crowd to shake something white in the air as a symbol of solidarity and optimism. When the call came to perform this ritual, Mary realized that she had forgotten to bring the traditional white handkerchief so, without missing a beat, grabbed the man next to her and playfully started shaking him.
  
  
• Case 6: Gretchen listened patiently as the new Cambodian supervisor explained his design idea. She then nodded respectfully, said she’d think about it, and returned to her desk having understood very little of what the man had said. “I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but Saru’s accent was so heavy I just gave up.” Gretchen later explained, “Besides, I’m sure it was a great idea, all Asians make wonderful engineers.”

The Answers

Case 1: Flexible vs. Inflexible—Juan Was Innocent

Juan was innocent because what he felt about Nancy was not an “inflexible belief about a particular category of people,” but an observed fact about a specific individual. If prior to meeting Nancy, he had said, “All Generation X employees change jobs a lot, I know that’s the way Nancy will be,” he would have been guilty of bias.

Case 2: “Just Like Me”— She Was Innocent

Being drawn to people like yourself is not automatically a symptom of a biased attitude. Often this attraction grows, not out of bias, but out of a desire for comfort and familiarity.

Case 3: “All White People Look Alike” —Ayana Was Innocent

Confusing one member of a race for another is often erroneously thought to be symptomatic of bias. If we wanted to, we could jump all over Ayana for mistaking one tall, blond customer for another. The truth, however, is that her error is nothing more than an example of the truism that groups of things or people that are unfamiliar look alike to our untutored eye.

Case 4: Reasonable Assumption—Harry Was Innocent

In a perfect world, Harry would have asked first before assuming that his neighbors were from Mexico. He didn’t, but that omission does not make him biased. Harry’s only crime was making a reasonable assumptionand turning out to be wrong. I’m not sure I’d give his new neighbors, however, the same break. The neighbors’ concern that they be thought to be illegal clearly displays an inflexible belief (a bias) that says “All Mexicans enter the U.S. illegally.” Perhaps their reaction points more to their own bigotry against Mexicans than it does to any biases Harry might have toward them.

A word of caution. Although it is not necessarily a bias, it is still unwise to act on every reasonable assumption that comes along. If we did, we would be guilty of both legal and moral transgressions when we, for example, promote a man over a woman because of the possibility that the woman may quit to bear a child. There is no reasonable assumption more irrefutable than the fact that women are more likely to become pregnant than men, but that does not make it right, or legal, to act on the assumption that a pregnancy will actually occur.

Case 5: In the Spirit—Mary Was Innocent

A good sense of humor, a comfort with oneself, and a willingness to laugh at the forces that divide our society have nothing to do with bias. When I heard this story from the white person who had been so warmly embraced, I fell a little bit in love with Mary. I imagine you did too.

Case 6: Guerilla Bias™—Gretchen Was Guilty

Poor Gretchen has the dubious distinction of being the only one of this bunch to be guilty of bias. Most obvious is her inflexible generality that “all Asians make wonderful engineers.” Just because her assumption is a positive one, does not mean that it is any less a bias.

There is, however, still worse news for Gretchen and for those around her. She would probably be very upset to know this because Gretchen is one of the nicest of “nice people.” She has a good heart, never wants to hurt anyone’s feelings, and likes to think well of others. Gretchen, you see, is a carrier of a particularly dangerous specie of bias: Guerilla Bias™.

One reason Guerilla Bias™ is so dangerous is that it is difficult to spot and almost impossible to diagnose. This is because, like the “guerilla warrior” who hides within stands of lush foliage, Guerilla Bias™ lies concealed behind good intentions, kind words, and even thoughtful acts.

Do you or your employees or members have Guerilla Bias™?

Hire Sondra and read her book, Making Diversity Work, to find out.

This quiz is excerpted from Making Diversity Work: Seven Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace (Chicago: Dearborn Trade, 2003). All rights reserved.

Sondra Thiederman is a speaker and author on diversity, bias-reduction, and cross-cultural issues. She is the author of Making Diversity Work: Seven Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace (Chicago: Dearborn Press, 2003) which is available at her web site or at www.Amazon.com. She can be contacted at:

Cross-Cultural Communications
4585 48th Street
San Diego, CA 92115
Phones: 619-583-4478 / 800-858-4478
Fax: 619-583-0304
www.Thiederman.com / STPhD@Thiederman.com

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