Behaviors that Impact Department/Workplace Climate

Day to day interactions in the workforce can have a profound effect on workplace "climate" whether intentional or not. The first step is to be aware of what behaviors can have accumulative negative impacts (see Microaggressions, and Implicit Bias) and strategies that can be used to Empower Bystanders to step up and support co-workers who may be victims or targets of hurtful behaviors.

Microaggressions

Microaggressions are the casual degradation of any marginalized group (Wikipedia). Whether intentional or not, the impacts are real, cumulative, and can lead to ..."diminished self confidence and contributes to a poor self-image and potentially lead to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and trauma."

• Microaggressions Matter--article by Simba Runowa, Sept 18, 2015 Atlantic Magazine; --contributed by Allie Byrd Skaer and Carolyn Brinkworth.
• Racial Microaggressions in Every Day Life, Sue et al., 2007. (Contributed by Carolyn Brinkworth).
• Examples of Racial Microaggressions--(Contributed by Carolyn Brinkworth).
• Gender Shrapnel in the Academic Workplace--Ellen Mayock, 2016, Palgrave and McMillan Press. "This book employs the image of "shrapnel," bits of scattered metal that can hit purposeful targets or unwitting bystanders, to narrate the story of workplace power and gender discrimination." See the companion interview with the author from Inside Higher Education.
• Addressing Racist Microaggressions--Macy Wilson, posted January 6, 2017 on Inside Higher Education; "Many colleges and universities pride themselves on their commitment to diversity, yet that commitment often seems to be superficial."
• Micro-Agressions, Micro-Resistance, and Ally Development in the Academy--from the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, Drs. Cynthia Ganote, Floyd Cheung and Tasha Souza (video recording)
• Unmasking "racial microaggressions"--Tori DeAngelis, 2009, American Psychological Association, vol 40 #2, p. 42.
• Examples of Racial Microaggressions--from University of Minnesota
• Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-470-49140-9. OCLC 430842664
• Sue, Derald Wing, (2012) Microaggressions and Marginality. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012
• 3 Approaches for Confronting Microaggressions--Tyrone Fleurizad, from Inside Higher Education, posted July 20, 2018.

Bias in Professional Relations

In The Discourse on the Method (1637), Rene Descartes describes his rational approach to understanding the physical universe free from preconceived ideas: "First, never accept anything as true that I did not know evidently to be so; that is, carefully to avoid precipitous judgement and prejudice; and to include nothing more in my judgments that what presented itself to my mind with such clarity and distinctness that I would have no occasion to doubt it." Cartesian skepticism, free from precipitous judgment and prejudice is equally as important in establishing professional relations in the workplace, lab, field, and professional gatherings. It is important to recognize many types of interpersonal bias that may enter the workplace, as these may ultimately have negative impacts on the progress of Science, and of the scientists themselves.

Strategies for reducing bias include:

• Being cognizant of the effects and impacts of potential bias
• Apply structure to reviews (e.g., job applications, performance reviews) so that the same criteria apply to all
• Question yourself--your motives, perceptions, personal frame of reference.

Cooperdock et al. (2021) provide practical advice on Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom, with seven major suggestions summarized by Dunscombe in EOS (12 March 2021): Seven Ways PIs Can Counteract Systematic Bias Right Now:

1. Normalize talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion in scientific settings.
2. Write fair and balanced reference letters.
3. Design your class field trips to be universally accessible.
4. Write safety plans for the field.
5. Partner with local communities
6. Feature scientists from many backgrounds in the classroom.
7. Most important of all: You're a leader. Just do something.

The "Confronting Prejudiced Responses (CPR) Model" recommends these steps in recognizing and responding to bias:

• understanding the context of the situation,
• assessing the the urgency of the problem,
• determining who is impacted,
• considering what can be done (and alternatives),
• considering what the consequences, are, and
• making a decision to act,

Refer also to this presentation on Confronting Prejudiced Responses model by Dr. Stephanie Goodman, Director of Faculty Development and Leadership, Wright State University

Implicit Bias

Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions that are activated involuntarily without an individual's awareness or intentional control (American Women in Science). Implicit bias refers to attitudes and stereotypes that affect perception and judgment without our being aware of it.

• Implicit Bias in STEM-- resources developed by American Women in Science
• Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students--Corinne A. Moss-Racusin, John F. Dovidio, Victoria L. Brescoll, Mark J. Graham, and Jo Handelsman; PNAS http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1211286109
• Does Gender Bias Influence Awards Given by Societies?--Mary Anne Holmes, Pranoti Asher, John Farrington, Rana Fine, Margaret Leinen, Phoebe LeBoy, EOS, Vol 92 #47, p. 421-422, 22 November 2011.
• Visit the Project Implicit, which was founded in 1998 by three scientists " Tony Greenwald(University of Washington), Mahzarin Banaji (Harvard University), and Brian Nosek (University of Virginia). On this site you will find 14 versions of the Implicit Association Test which "measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report...The IAT measures the strength of associations between concepts (e.g., black people, gay people) and evaluations (e.g., good, bad) or stereotypes (e.g., athletic, clumsy). " Follow this portal to take the IAT.
• Unconscious Bias Training--produced by Google Ventures (submission from Allie Byrd Skaer and Carolyn Brinkworth)
• Gender Bias in the Workplace--examples from UCAR, (submission from Allie Byrd Skaer and Carolyn Brinkworth
• Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder--Ian M. Handley, Elizabeth R. Brown, Corinne A. Moss-Racusi, and Jessi L. Smith, PNAS October 27, 2015 col 112, #43, 13201-13206, http://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1510649112/-/DCSupplemental
• Race and Gender Bias in Online Courses--Scott Jaschik, from Inside Higher Education, posted March 8, 2018. "Study finds instructors are much more likely to respond to comments from white male students than from others."
• Examples of work environments hostile to women are reported in Women engineers describe unfriendly work environments in study--reported by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, October 27, 2016, Chicago Tribune
• Gender differences in recommendation letters for postdoctoral fellowships in geoscience--Kuheli Dutt, Danielle, L. Pfaff, Ariel F. Bernstein, Joseph S. Dillard and Caryn J. Block, http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v9/n11/full/ngeo2819.html
• Presumed Incompetent: Race, Gender and Class in Academia--from the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity; Slides, Audio and Transcripts of presentation by Dr. Carmen Gonzalez, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law.
• Science Faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students--Corinne Moss-Racusin, John Dovidio Victoria Brescoll, Mark Graham and Jo Handelsman, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol 109 #41, 16474-16479 and related interview Why Does John Get the STEM Job Rather Than Jennifer? (Clayman Institute for Gender Studies, Stanford University).
• Banaji, M. R., M. H. Bazerman, and D. Chugh (2003), How (un) ethical are you? Harvard Business Review, 81(12), 56-65.
• Barres, B. A. (2006), Does gender matter? Nature, 442(7099), pp. 133-136. DOI:10.1038/442133a
• Bertrand, M., and S. Mullainathan (2003), Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination (No. w9873). National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Greenwald, A. G., and L.H. Krieger (2006), [link http://www.jstor.org/stable/20439056 'Implicit bias: Scientific foundations']. California Law Review, 94(4), 945-967.
• Holmes, M. A., P. Asher, J. Farrington, R. Fine, M. S. Leinen, and P. LeBoy (2011), Does gender bias influence awards given by societies?. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 92(47), 421. DOI: 10.1029/2011EO470002.
• Moss-Racusin, C. A., J.F. Dovidio, V. L. Brescoll, M.J. Graham, and J. Handelsman (2012), Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students. Proc. Natl Acad Sciences, DOI 10.1073/pnas.1211286109
• Gender Bias in the Workplace--a useful list of examples from UCAR.
• Women Engineers Describe Unfriendly Work Environments in Study--Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribune, posted October 27, 2016. Many day to day examples of implicit bias.
• How stereotypes impair women's careers in science--Ernesto Reuben, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales, PNAS 2014 March, 111 (12) 4403-4408. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1314788111
• Rudman, L. A., R. D. Ashmore, and M.L. Gary (2001), "Unlearning" automatic biases: the malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(5), 856-868. DOI: http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.81.5.856">10.1037/0022-3514.81.5.856.
• Steinpreis, R. E., K. A. Anders and D. Ritzke (1999), The impact of gender on the review of the curricula vitae of job applicants and tenure candidates: A national empirical study. Sex roles, 41(7), 509-528. DOI: 10.1023/A:1018839203698.
• Harvard's Project Implicit: people should begin here and take the test for free. You can also learn about the extensive research done.
• Association for Women in Science's RAISE Project to increase the number of women who receive awards from professional societies.
• Bias and the Application Process--Jeffrey W. Lockhart, April 29, 2016 from Inside Higher Education; Advice on how to avoid bias in reviewing applications, "The application review process can significantly disadvantage applicants from underrepresented groups."
• Gender Bias Bingo: a way to introduce faculty and staff to the impact of implicit bias
• University of Michigan's STRIDE Committee
• University of Washington's ADVANCE program videos on implicit bias in search committee deliberations
• University of Wisconsin's WISELI Program (evaluation rubrics)
• References on Implicit Bias (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 125kB Feb16 18)--compiled by Mary Anne Holmes.
• MacNell, Driscoll, & Hunt (2015) What's in a Name: Exposing Gender Bias in Student Ratings of Teaching
• Chambers (1983) Stereotypic images of the scientist: The draw-a-scientist test
• Moss-Racusin et al. (2012), Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students'.
• Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination--Bertrand and Mullainathan (2004)
• Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female Musicians--Goldin and Rouse (2000)
• Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty?--Correll, Benard, and Paik (1997)
• Schmader et al. (2007) A Linguistic Comparison of Letters of Recommendation for Male and Female Chemistry and Biochemistry Job Applicants
• Check out this online APP: Gendered Language in Teacher Reviews--"This interactive chart lets you explore the words used to describe male and female teachers in about 14 million reviews from RateMyProfessor.com." Clearly shows gender bias in language used in student reviews of faculty, across many disciplines in higher education.
• Same Course, Different Ratings--Colleen Flaherty, from Inside Higher Education, posted March 14, 2018; "Study says students rate male instructors more highly than women even when they're teaching identical courses." See the original study Gender Bias in Student Evaluations, Mitchell, K., & Martin, J. (2018). Gender Bias in Student Evaluations. PS: Political Science & Politics, 1-5. doi:10.1017/S104909651800001X .

Halo Effect

The "Halo Effect" is a cognitive bias where the overall impressions of an individual affect how we perceive other attributes of their character. For example, someone who appears to be physically attractive might also be considered to be a good leader, smart, funny, well-liked, etc.

• What is the Halo Effect by Kendra Cherry (April 7, 2017) describes the Halo Effect and why it matters in your professional life.
• See also the definition of the Halo Effect from Psychology.

Anchoring Bias

"Psychological anchoring is a term used to describe the human tendency to rely too heavily on one trait (and often the first piece of information) when making decisions" (The Affects of Anchoring Bias on Human Behavior, Thought Hub May 23, 2016). Further examples of anchoring bias, and how to avoid this are found in Anchoring Effect: How the Mind is Biased by First Impressions from Psyblog. Experts tend to be less susceptible to anchoring bias, based on their more complete understanding of a topic or issue. Beware of first impressions!

• Anchoring Effect: How the Mind is Biased by First Impressions--from PsyBlog, definition, examples and ways to avoid anchoring bias.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmational bias is realized as people make decisions that confirm beliefs that are already developed. Thoughts and actions are commonly influenced by ingrained stereotypes. Aspects of confirmation bias include biased (or selective) searches for information, biased interpretation, and biased memories. A good introduction to confirmation bias can be found at What is Confirmation Bias, by Shahram Heshmat, Psychology Today posted on April 23, 2015.

• The Confirmation Bias: Why It's Hard to Change your Mind--from PSYBLOG . "People search for information that confirms their view of the world and ignore what doesn't fit."
• Written in Black and White Exploring Confirmation Bias in Racialized Perceptions of Writing Skills--Dr. Arin N. Reeves, Yellow Paper Series, Nextions. "RESEARCH QUESTION: Given our finding in a previous study that supervising lawyers are more likely than not to perceive African American lawyers as having subpar writing skills in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts, we asked if confirmation bias unconsciously causes supervising lawyers to more negatively evaluate legal writing by an African American lawyer". See also commentary in ABA Journal: Partners in study gave legal memo a lower rating when told author wasn't white by Debra Cassens Weiss, posted April 21, 2014.

Imposter Effect

Imposter syndrome "...is a concept describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud" " (Wikipedia).

• Feeling Like Imposters--Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, April 6, 2017, from Inside Higher Education; "New study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that the impostor phenomenon can affect various groups of minority students in different ways."
• How a Dean Got Over Imposter Syndrome--and Thinks You Can, Too--Inside Higher Education, by Nell Gluckman, November 26, 2017.
• Faking It: Women, Academia, and Imposter Syndrome--Kate Bahn, from ChronicleVitae

Addressing Bias Issues

• Proven Strategies for Addressing Unconscious Bias in the Workplace--from CDO Insights (August 2008, Volume 2 Issue 5)
  Show Top 10 Ways to Combat Hidden Bias
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  Top 10 Ways to Combat Hidden Bias

  1. Recognize that as human beings, our brains make mistakes without us even knowing it. The new science of "unconscious bias" applies to how e perceive other people. We're all biased and becoming aware of of own biases will help us mitigate them in the workplace.
  2. Reframe the conversation to focus on fair treatment and respect, and away from discrimination and "protected classes". Review every aspect of the employment life cycle for hidden bias " screening resumes, interviews, onboarding, assignment process, mentoring programs, performance evaluation, identifying high performers, promotion and termination.
  3. Ensure that anonymous employee surveys are conducted company-wide to first understand what specific issues of hidden bias and unfairness might exist at your workplace. Each department or location may have different issues.
  4. Conduct anonymous surveys with former employees to understand what were the issues they faced, what steps could be taken for the to consider coming back, whether they encourage or discourage prospective employees from applying for positions at your company and whether they encourage or discourage prospective customers/clients from using your company's products or services.
  5. Offer customized training based upon survey results of current and former employees that includes examples of hidden bias, forms of unfairness that are hurtful and demotivating, and positive methods to discuss these issues.
  6. Offer an anonymous, third-party complaint channel such as an ombudsperson; since most of the behaviors that employees perceive as unfair are not covered by current laws " e.g. bullying, very subtle bias "existing formal complaint channels simply don't work.
  7. Initiate a resume study within your industry, company and/or department to see whether resumes with roughly equivalent education and experience are weighted equally, when the names are obviously gender or race or culturally distinct.
  8. Launch a resume study within your company and/or department to reassign points based on earned accomplishments vs. accidents of birth " e.g. take points off for someone who had an unpaid internship, add points for someone who put him/herself through college.
  9. Support projects that encourage positive images of persons of color, GLBT and women. Distribute stories and pictures widely that portray tereotype-busting images " posters, newsletters, annual reports, speaker series, podcasts. Many studies show that the mere positive image of specific groups of people can combat our hidden bias.
  10. Identify, support and collaborate with effective programs that increase diversity in the pipeline. Reward employees who volunteer with these groups, create internships and other bridges, and celebrate the stories of those who successfully overcome obstacles.
• Strategies to Address Unconscious Bias--compiled by the University of California San Francisco Office of Diversity and Outreach

Empowering Bystanders

Silence is complicity. Inaction is not an option. Bystanders can make a difference--to help prevent, to intervene to protect, and to report for mitigation-- if they:

• Not Alone, The First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault--April 2014. This report was prepared by the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. Key recommendations: 1) Identifying the Problem: Campus Climate Surveys; 2) Preventing Sexual Assault--and Engaging Men; 3) Effectively Responding When a Student is Sexually Assaulted; and 4) Increasing Transparency and Improving Enforcement;
• Bystander Intervention Training--developed by Hollaback! An excellent place to start for resources and research on empowering bystanders!
• Prevention Innovations Research Center (PIRC) at the University of New Hampshire has extensive resources on empowering bystanders, including the Bringing in the Bystander In-Person Prevention Program, Know Your Power Bystander Social marketing Campaign, the Bystander Program Evaluation Measures, and bibliography of related scholarly articles.
• StepUp! program: includes Strategies for Effective Helping, a Resource Library with links to videos, scenarios, and helpful fact sheets.
• Become an Ally--from the Anti-Oppression Network; "....in which a person of privilege seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group of people". And So You Call Yourself an Ally: 10 Things All 'Allies' Need to Know--Jamie Utt, November 8, 2013.
• Rowe, M., Wilcox, L., Gadlin, H., 2009, Dealing with - or reporting - "unacceptable" behavior (with additional thoughts about the "Bystander Effect"): Journal of the International Ombudsman Association, 2, p. 52-62.
• Astronomy Allies--contributed by Niescja E. Turner.
• References for Becoming an Ally (Acrobat (PDF) 424kB Feb15 18)--compiled by Mary Anne Holmes
• Creating an academic environment hostile to sexual misconduct-- a first hand account Blog Post from Small Pond Science; (contributed by Erika Marin-Spiotta).
• How to Respond to Harassment--from Hollaback
• Advocates and Allies--program developed at North Dakota State University
• Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence--A Guide for Preventionists--from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
• Dos and Don'ts for Bystander Intervention--a flyer developed by Communities Against Islamophobia/American Friends Service Committee
• To Act or Not to Act: The Dilemma Faced by Sexual Harassment Observers--Lynn Bowes-Sperry and Anne M. O'Leary-Kelly The Academy of Management Review Vol. 30, No. 2 (Apr., 2005), pp. 288-306
• Video Resources from the University of Arizona STEP UP! Bystander Intervention program (and related resources on Sexual Assault.
• When Do We Confront? Perceptions of Costs and Benefits Predict Confronting Discrimination on Behalf of the Self and others--Jessica J. Good, Corinne A. Moss-Racusin, and Diana T. Sanchez, 2012, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 00(0) p. 1-17; DOI: 10.1177/0361684312440958; "...women were more likely to report confronting if they believed that the confrontation would make a difference (perceived benefits), or they were less concerned about social sanctions (perceived costs), and the prediction patterns were similar for both experienced and observed sexism."
• A Call for Bystander Intervention to End Racism--Eric Anthony Grollman
• The "Confronting Prejudiced Responses (CPR) Model" recommends these steps in recognizing and responding to bias:
  • understanding the context of the situation,
  • assessing the the urgency of the problem,
  • determining who is impacted,
  • considering what can be done (and alternatives),
  • considering what the consequences, are, and
  • making a decision to act,

Refer also to this presentation on Confronting Prejudiced Responses model by Dr. Stephanie Goodman, Director of Faculty Development and Leadership, Wright State University. The seminal article on CPR is The Confronting Prejudiced Responses (CPR) Model: Applying CPR in Organizations---Leslie Ashburn-Nardo, Kathryn A. Morris, and Stephanie A Goodwin, Academy of Management Learning and Education vol 7 #3 (Sept 2008), pp.. 332-342.

Some thoughts on empowering bystanders and whistleblowing: it appears that whistleblowing connotes bringing attention to violations of policy, and that this may not necessarily imply immediate personal harm, and might be done any time after acquiring evidence. Empowering bystanders appears to be an immediate response with some urgency to diffuse a situation (although some strategies encourage engaging follow-on actions such as a private talk with the perpetrator or manager), it seems to be on a more personal level. It's worth considering if there are the same protections against retaliation that might be available to bystanders that seem to be available to whistle blowers. Bystanders who take action are going to have to live with the consequences such as alienating co-workers or supervisors. The department/workplace climate has to honor and respect actions taken by individuals who take the initiative to do the right thing!