Can You Spot a Bias?
What Is "Guerilla Bias"TM?

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

Based on this definition and going solely by the information provided below, 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 50-year-old manager, had occasion to interview a woman named Nancy who, at the time of their meeting, was in her mid-20's. After the interview, Juan said to his boss, "I'd like to hire her, but Nancy has quit four career-track jobs since college. We need someone willing to commit for the long run. It looks like some Generation Xers really do move around a lot."
Case 2: It was the end of a long day at the diversity conference and Eva 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, like Eva, was white; at the other, everyone was black. Because she knew the folks at both tables equally well, she was faced with a dilemma. Where will she sit? If she were honest, she would admit that her impulse was to go to the all-white table. It promised a little more familiarity, a little more comfort. In the end, she gave into that impulse 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 guessed that they were from Mexico. After all, he figured, everyone else in his neighborhood had emigrated from Baja California. In a gesture of welcome, he packaged up some homemade chocolate chip cookies, knocked on the door, and made awkward conversation beginning with, "Hello, I'm your neighbor next door. Are you from Mexico? I vacationed there last year and it is a beautiful country."

The couple became visibly upset at Harry's assumption. Obviously outraged, they defensively pointed out that they were from Argentina, not Mexico, and even went so far as to say something like, "How could you think such a thing?" Despite Harry's good intentions, his neighbors were deeply offended. It took months to mend the rift.

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: Gerry was the manager at a business journal in New York City. One of his writers was a young woman named Liz. Liz was a satisfactory journalist but not quite up to the standards of the organization. Because of this, Gerry had gotten into the habit of editing her pieces, rather than doing what he did with the men on his staff: sending their pieces back for rewrites. When one of those men asked Gerry why he hadn't edited their writing too, Gerry said, "Your situation is different. After all, Liz is a single mother, and you know they all have a rough time and deserve an extra break."


The Answers

Case 1: Flexible vs. Inflexible -- Juan Is Innocent

Juan is innocent because what he felt about Nancy was not an "inflexible positive or negative 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.
 
Another sign of his innocence is his use of the word "some" in the statement, "It looks like some Generation Xers really do move around a lot." This sentence reflects, not a bias (inflexible), but a vague generality that does not necessarily apply to all individuals within that age group (flexible).

Case 2: "Just Like Me" -- Eva Is 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. Having said that, being comfortable with your own group may not be a sign of bias, but failure to make an effort to be with people different from yourself is a mistake. It is a mistake because, not only is such contact enriching, getting to know people of diverse backgrounds is a powerful way to prevent biases from developing in the first place.

Case 3: "All White People Look Alike" -- Ayana Is 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. In fairness, however, 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 Is Innocent

Based solely on the information provided here, there is no reason to declare Harry guilty of bias. 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 drawing a reasonable conclusion (based on the country of origin of his other neighbors) and having it turn out to be wrong. I'm not sure I'd give his new neighbors, however, the same break. They clearly felt that being mistaken for Mexican was an insult. This reaction points more to their own bigotry against Mexicans than Harry's clumsiness does to any bias he might have against his neighbors.

A word of caution: Although "reasonable assumptions" are not biases, it is still unwise to act on every one that pops into our brains. 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 Is 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 BiasTM -- Gerry Is Guilty
 
Gerry would be very upset to learn of his guilt because he is one of the nicest of nice people. He has a good heart, never wants to hurt anyone’s feelings, and likes to think well of others. The bad news for Gerry, and for those around him, is that he is a carrier of a particularly dangerous species of bias: Guerilla Bias. One reason Guerilla Bias is so dangerous is that it is difficult to spot and, therefore, very tough to diagnose. Like the guerilla warrior who hides within stands of sweet-smelling foliage, Guerilla Bias lies concealed behind good intentions, kind words, and even thoughtful acts. In Gerry’s case, his so-called thoughtful act was to edit Liz’s manuscripts for her, rather than give her the opportunity to learn from her mistakes.

Another reason that Guerilla Bias, despite its soft persona, is so frightening is that it’s based on the particularly destructive premise that certain groups are in some way, and for some reason, in need of special treatment. Because of this premise, it’s easy to confuse Guerilla Bias with kindness—but there is a key difference. Guerilla Bias involves a belief that every single member of a particular group needs special treatment. A kindness, on the other hand, is directed at one person because of a given event or circumstance.


What can you do to heal bias in your organization?

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, Revised 2nd edition (New York: Kaplan Publishing, 2008) 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 (New York: Kaplan Publishing, 2008) which is available at her web site or at http://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
 http://www.thiederman.com/ / STPhD@Thiederman.com

 

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