Social Care News and Features

“Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance,” is a widely-used quote from diversity and inclusion expert Verna Myers. However, there is an embedded bias in deciding who you ask to dance and whether the music genre affects your choice of invite.

For instance, as a woman would you ask a man to dance? What happens if that man is in a wheelchair? Would you ask as confidently? Would you ask a woman wearing a hijab or would you assume that she may not want to dance because it’s against her religion? Would you ask an older person to dance to ‘softer’ music versus loud, heavy bass music?

Bias is a form of prejudice, either in favour of, or against, individuals and groups of people. It is manifested in attitudes, behaviours and language and highlights a sense of ‘the other’.

There are two types of biases:

• Implicit bias (also known as unconscious bias) – this is associated with attitudes and beliefs that occur outside our conscious awareness and control. They can manifest in day-to-day interactions and are highlighted when others feel uncomfortable or are inadvertently made aware of the specific prejudices you may hold against them.
• Explicit bias (also known as conscious bias) – this is a bias that we are aware of on a conscious level. An example is if a person tells/listens to a racist joke and knows it’s racist but still thinks it’s funny because it’s a commonly held stereotype and so is seen as acceptable.

Biases are hardwired at a neurological level over a significant period of time and, on occasion, can be a reactive response to a perceived threat. However, as social workers, it is necessary to take personal responsibility for managing biases.

Practice tips

• Commit consciously to being fair, inclusive and respectful to everyone you come into contact with. Consider how you will consciously work to create an environment that embraces all fairness, inclusion and respect.
• Be aware of any cross-cultural communication, such as difference in body language and spacial proximity, eye contact, tone of voice, and gestures (for example, a simple gesture like nodding the head is considered to be ‘yes’ in certain cultures and ‘no’ in others).
• Spend time listening to (as opposed to asking about) individuals’ personal experiences and expectations.
• It is important to remember that people may come to social care services with biases themselves. Past experiences of discrimination might mean that they interact with negative expectations. Consider their biases about you and think about the following:
  – take time to understand their perspective and experiences;
  – provide an explanation and regular updates;
  – be realistic about what you can and cannot provide;
  – seek support from colleagues and your manager;
  – discuss this in team meetings.
• If you suspect you have a bias about a particular group of people, try to analyse why this is, where the bias has come from and what it means. What is your first recollection of feeling this way? Was the bias triggered by a particular event, or learned from a particular person? What can you do to overcome the bias?
• Help each other in detecting and managing biases. Find a bias buddy with whom you can, in a confidential setting, discuss your dilemmas and analyse how to manage biases effectively.
• Actively contribute to creating an environment where the underlying theme is inclusion and where different perspectives, standards and styles of communication are encouraged and valued.
• Manage your triggers; if you are tired, stressed or feeling overwhelmed, your brain relies more on unconscious, fast processing in a situation. Time pressures are likely to create an environment in which unconscious biases are able to flourish.
• Keep good records of decisions and justifications and monitor them for patterns that might suggest unintentional bias. Explore the following:
  – what language patterns are used?
  – how do professional colleagues ally themselves?
  – how is difference managed?
  – how are biases challenged?
  – how do your emotions affect those you support, especially if you show signs of withdrawal, impatience, frustration or even sarcasm?
• Consider the substitution concept – in any interaction, reflect whether you would interact with the person in the same way if they were of a different race, gender, religion, age, background etc.
• Accept the perspectives of others – contrasting viewpoints and different perspectives help reduce automatic biases.
• Treat everyone as an individual as opposed to considering them to be an absolute representation of the community that they are part of. This helps evaluate any stereotypes and avoid any damaging effects as a result of your stereotyping.

It is now widely recognised that unconscious biases, judgments and assumptions can have a lasting, negative impact on the person concerned. By proactively taking action to combat these preconceptions, both through personal reflection and direct interaction, it is likely that strong, robust working relations will emerge.