Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

<Video plays of Bob Pryor, CEO of NTT DATA Services.>

Unconscious Bias. It refers to stereotypes that develop outside of our conscious awareness.
Hidden beliefs that are deeply engrained, and they pop up automatically in ways the influence
behavior unintentionally. It happens to everyone. If you’ve ever made a decision based on a
hidden belief, congratulations, you’re human. But just because Unconscious Bias is universal
doesn’t mean it’s harmless. In truth, it cuts off opportunities for other people, it shrinks the
company’s success and diminishes each of us as human beings.

NTT DATA is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels
encouraged to be themselves and free to do their best work. That’s what this training is all about.
It’s aligned to our company’s cultural expectations and will make our business stronger, and it will
make you and I better people. Let’s consciously increase our success by tackling Unconscious
Bias. Thanks for your support.

<Video plays, The Interviewer by Bus Stop Films.>

<A closed-captioned version of this video is available at this link on YouTube.>

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

In The Interviewer video just watched, Thomas Howell is to be interviewed by Mr. Dexter. He is
greeted by James Dexter and invited into a breakroom for his scheduled interview. This video
provides an eye-opening look into Unconscious Bias from different directions.

We see how James, born with Downs Syndrome, is perceived by both Thomas Howell and Paul
Dexter, James’s father and employer. We see the surprise in Thomas’s eyes as James invites
Thomas into his scheduled interview and Thomas’s subsequent unease during the initial
interaction. We also get a glimpse into Paul’s perspective as he chastises James, telling him his
job is to offer refreshments and make copies. He fails to see that James has value and
capabilities beyond those menial tasks.

As we can see, Unconscious Bias has implications in the workplace. Consequently, it has
implications for your NTT DATA work experience. Let’s let NTT DATA’s CEO, Bob Pryor, share
his perspective.

Have you ever wondered how you make decisions?

Most of us would like to think that we weigh up the alternatives and arrive at well-thought-out
conclusions, but every day we make countless decisions without even realizing it. We are
exposed to roughly around 11 million pieces of information a second, and yet, research
suggests that our conscious brain is only able to functionally capture 40 pieces in any given
second.

So how does our brain handle the rest of the information? We take mental shortcuts to fill in the
blanks based on our backgrounds, cultural environment, and personal experiences. We
automatically make snap judgments about people before we even realize we have done so.

We do it by developing a perceptual lens. This lens filters out certain bits or types of information
and lets other bits in, depending upon certain perceptions, interpretations, preferences, and
biases that we have adopted throughout our life.

We can see this in some very ordinary ways: for example, when you decide to get a new car
and know the make and model you want, how often did you suddenly start to see that car in TV

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

commercials or on the street?

Our perceptive lens enables us to see certain things while dismissing others without much if any thought at all. This happens at an unconscious level. This lens filters the
evidence we collect, generally supporting our already held points-of-view. As a result of these pre-established filters, we see things, hear things, and interpret them differently
than other people might. Or we might not even see them at all!

Experts tell us that our unconscious mind makes the majority of our decisions. It creates blind
spots, Unconscious Biases that can narrow our vision and potentially influence our behaviors or
decisions.

There are many different kinds of Unconscious Bias:

Affinity Bias: This leads us to favor people with who we feel we have a connection or similarity.
For example, someone who has attended the same college or university as you did, supports
the same football team, grown up in the same town, or even someone who reminds you of a
person you already know and like.

Halo Effect: This is when we see one great thing about a person and then think that everything
about that person is good. We let the halo glow of that great thing affect our opinions of
everything else about that person.

Horns Effect: The Horns Effect is the direct opposite of the Halo Effect. The Horns Effect is
when we see one bad thing about a person, and we let it cloud our opinions of their other
attributes. For example, when interviewing someone, we might be put off by the fact that they
speak very slowly because our Unconscious Bias has caused us to assume that someone who speaks slowly is unintelligent. If we assume they’re unintelligent, everything they
say or do for the rest of the interview would be clouded by our judgment.

Confirmation Bias: Refers to how people primarily search for bits of evidence that back up their opinions rather than looking at the whole picture. It leads to selective observation,
meaning you overlook other information and instead focus on things that fit your view.

Another bias that is widely seen in the workplace is Gender Bias.

Gender Bias: Simply a preference for one gender over the other. It often stems from our deep-seated beliefs about gender roles and stereotypes. In recruitment, gender bias
can cause you to unconsciously lean towards a candidate based on their gender and the qualities you associate with it. For example, you may subconsciously think a man better
fits a physically demanding job.

Intent makes the difference between Explicit Bias and Unconscious Bias.

Explicit Bias leads us toward intentional actions in which we are fully aware of the actions we
take and the implications or consequences of those actions. Explicit Bias may lead to positive
or negative outcomes based on the intent behind the actions.

Unconscious Bias leads us toward unintentional actions in which we are unaware of our actions
and their implications or consequences. Unconscious Bias may lead to unintended
consequences due to misunderstood actions or meanings. In other words, “We have a failure to
communicate.”

Example: A friendly face draws us in because the face is perceived as having “shared,”
“familiar,” or “favored” characteristics. An unfriendly face raises barriers because it is perceived
as having different, unfamiliar, or unacceptable characteristics. Both situations may produce
intentional or unintentional actions with unintended or intended consequences.

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

Biased thinking may have its foundations in myth. For example, we may believe the myth that
an accurate memory of past events is a reliable input into our decisions.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the southern shores of the US, bringing massive storm surges
to New Orleans. Louisiana. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security’s Operations
Centre was in Washington DC. Its director was responsible for evaluating first reports from the
ground and reporting his conclusions up to the White House during this catastrophic weather
event.

The director had 30 years of experience running government Operations Centers and was
highly qualified to separate good information from bad. His long experience had led him to the
belief that first reports are often inaccurate and exaggerated. In other words, he believed that he
could rely on lessons learned from experience.

As Katrina struck New Orleans, he evaluated reports on whether the levees or earthen dams
had been breached. These levees were essential to holding back the water from the low-lying
areas of New Orleans and surrounding areas.

Reports came quickly throughout the day. By the end of that first day, he received many reports, some of which were conflicting, and he had to determine their reliability. That
evening he went home after reassuring the White House that there was no substantial breach of New Orleans levies.

Late the next morning, the director informed the White House that levies had, in fact, been breached and much of New Orleans was already underwater. His inaccurate
assessment of conditions in New Orleans delayed the federal response by 24 hours. The delay resulted in the deaths of over 1,800 people and thousands of residents losing
their homes and livelihoods. In addition, Katrina’s devastation cost the US Government $86 billion.

The director later explained that in that critical, chaotic first 24-hour period, as the hurricane rolled over the south coast, he listened to each report carefully. He selectively picked
a few reports that appeared to him as less exaggerated, all the time applying his recollection of exaggerated first reports of previous chaotic events he had managed.
Consequently, the few reports were missed that held the truth of what was unfolding. The moral of this example is that we can’t always rely on our memory and past
experiences as perfect guides in the present.

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

When it comes to how we communicate our biases, explicitly versus unconsciously, words
make a difference.

A recent LinkedIn research study found that job advertisements impacted men and women
differently when using certain adjectives for describing roles.

For example, job descriptions including the word “aggressive” were more discouraging to
women than men. The study found that 44% of the women surveyed would feel discouraged
from applying for the role, while only 33% of the men would feel discouraged from applying.

In the UK, a study conducted by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) found that when
sending fake CV’s (resumés) with identical qualifications and experience to open job
advertisements, candidates with white, British-sounding names had to send nine CVs before
receiving a positive response from an employer. Candidates with ethnic-sounding names sent
up to sixteen CVs before receiving a positive response.

Similarly, researchers at MIT and the University of Chicago distributed 5,000 resumés to 1,250
employers advertising job opportunities. All resumés were similar except for the names. Some
names were non-ethnic-sounding names, while others were ethnic-sounding names. Each
employer received four resumés: one of each category considered “average skilled” and one
considered “highly skilled.”

Results showed that non-ethnic-sounding names received 50% more callbacks than those with
ethnic-sounding names. However, there was virtually no difference between the numbers of
callbacks received when comparing average skilled vs. highly skilled in addition to the racial
variable.

Regardless of where we live and work, we typically recognize that people with different

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

sounding names may have different cultures and backgrounds. We may have learned over the course of time, from others, that some groups of people enrich our lives and
experience while other groups do the opposite. Prejudice is a learned behavior. We must be conscious of prejudices we may still be holding onto and work to eliminate them
from our experience.

Bias in the workplace, real or perceived, has costs. Those costs are not limited to how bias
affects people and their working relationships; it has real costs to employers in terms of dollars,
rupees, yen, euros, etc.

In 2015, the Corporate Leavers Survey conducted by The Level Playing Field Institute showed
that approximately two million professionals and managers voluntarily leave their jobs each year
due to perceived unfairness. This employee turnover results in an estimated annual cost to
employers of approximately $64 billion.

An important consequence of unfairness in the workplace is that people experiencing real or

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

It is important to remember that the survey captured the perceptions of those surveyed and
does not reflect findings or conclusions of formal investigations of unfairness in the workplace.

To quote the report’s conclusion: “The most fundamental conclusion to be drawn from this study
is this: overt and illegal discrimination is no longer the largest threat to recruiting and retaining
the “best and the brightest.” Unfairness, in the form of every-day inappropriate behaviors such
as stereotyping, public humiliation, and promoting based upon personal characteristics, is a very
real, prevalent, and damaging part of the work environment. We found that experiences of
unfairness vary by demographics, and thus generic training and laws alone cannot adequately
remedy this complex problem. By identifying, studying, and quantifying the problem of
unfairness in the workplace, across demographics, we can work to remove the barriers and
biases which create unfair workplaces.”

What this means to us is that unfairness can be intentional or unintentional. Regardless, each of
us is responsible for our actions and working together to ensure a fair work environment.

Now, let’s look at some strategies for how we can overcome our own Unconscious Biases.
Becoming aware of your Bias can often be the hardest step. Be honest with yourself. It’s okay
to have biases; we all do. It doesn’t make you any less of a person. What’s important is that you
control them and actively look for ways to expand and revise your views. Be open to change.
The good news is that Unconscious Bias hiding in plain sight works in management’s favor
because the concept is relatively blameless. If we all have hidden biases, then working to
eliminate them won’t single us out, hopefully increasing employees’ and leadership’s willingness
to learn.

Remember: No one is immune to Unconscious Bias, and all initiatives should be companywide.
A good place to start with would be to take an Implicit Associations Test (IAT). These tests were
developed by Tony Greenwald, a University of Washington professor who started researching
Unconscious Bias in 1994. The test takes five minutes and cuts through the perceptions of our
own biases on gender, religion, race, sexuality, and more. Prepare test takers for the fact that
about 75% of people who have taken the race IAT show biases.

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

Watch your language. Avoid words or phrases like: “the kid," “oh man,” or “oh brother," “manpower," “you guys," “attendees and their wives,” etc. These phrases are biased
and feed the subconscious biases of those around you.
Finding your trigger is an important step. What are the situations where are most likely to experience these Unconscious Biases?
- In meetings
- Before a tough decision
- Over email
- When you are in certain moods
Other entry points for Bias may include:
- How people are hired
- How work is assigned
- What happens during performance evaluations
- How compensation is determined
Where does bias have the opportunity to influence each process? For example, when looking at how people are hired, you may notice that 70% of people interviewed are men.
You could then strip names and other identifying aspects from resumes before review to see if those statistics improve. This tactic is referred to as the interruption strategy. In
addition, you could ensure the interview panels are more diverse—for example, when one gender has more decision-making power than another, it perpetuates gender bias.
People tend to hire and promote people who look like them.

Slow down and take your time. When you notice a trigger, pause and give yourself a minute before instantly reacting. This will help you avoid making snap judgments. You
need to turn off that older part of your brain that makes these snap judgments. Take three deep breathes to calm down and get out of that fight or flight mode become more
rational.
Encourage workers to hold each other accountable. Part of making a concerted effort to eliminate prevailing bias is working together. This is especially key when it comes to
hidden bias. Awareness is the first step to enacting any sort of change, so help those on your team be more aware of their behaviors, so they are able to self-correct. This goes
for management and leadership, too. All major organizational changes need to have complete buy-in and support from leaders.

You’ll never be completely free of bias, but if you work at it over time using the techniques we’ve discussed, you’ll be able to reduce the effect of Unconscious Bias on your
decision-making and start achieving better outcomes. And if you can share what you’ve learned with other employees, you can multiply the impact across your organization.

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

Let’s wrap things up.

At NTT DATA, it is important that we each accept that we have biases, both explicit and
unconscious. That we have biases is neither good nor bad. Rather, it is the consequences of
how our biases are applied that can be defined as good or bad, profitable, unprofitable, right or
wrong, etc. Just as we saw in the short video, The Interviewer, James’s father, Paul, had
developed an expectation of what James was capable of. The expectation of James’s
capabilities and their relative value limited James’s ability to contribute in a truly meaningful
way. Even Thomas was visibly surprised by James’s greeting and imitation of Voldemort and
asked when the real interviewer was going to show up. He obviously didn’t believe that James
was the proper sort of person to conduct the job interview for a solicitor position at a prestigious
law firm. This expectation also put artificial limits on James.

In a similar way, our biases can stand in the way of NTT DATA’s success in the marketplace
when they begin to affect our ability to put clients first, demonstrate foresight, and be one unified
team. Our biases, left unchecked, may not only result in artificially imposing limits on other
people, biases can lead to poor problem analysis and decision making as shown in the story
told about how being guided by the myth of past experience as a reliable basis for making
decisions. As you recall in the story, it was believed that because past experience showed that since early reports are often exaggerated, reports of what seemed to be an
exaggeration of the breached levees were discounted. As a result, a proper response was delayed by 24 hours, which led to significant loss of life and property.

As we each consciously and honestly recognize our biases, be conscious of the impacts of our words, understand what triggers act on our biases, take your time to properly
assess circumstances, and encourage mutual accountability among all involved. When we do so, we will become stronger as one global NTT DATA team dedicated to the
success of our clients.

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Unconscious Bias - Downloadable Transcript

4 Steps for Busting Unconscious Bias

Understanding Unconscious Bias

Unpacking the Biases that Shape our Beliefs | Mike Hartmann | TEDxStJohns

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