Unconscious Bias

Unconscious Bias: Navigating Bias

Biases are our brain’s automatic, unintentional, deeply ingrained stereotypes about other people. These biases, formed by a lifetime of experiences, education, and cultural environment, are a natural part of human cognition. Despite our best efforts, they can influence our decisions and actions, often in ways we’re not aware of. With our brains processing only 40 bits of data consciously out of the 11 billion bits it encounters, these mental shortcuts play a significant role in interpreting and interacting with the world around us.

At Ananya-Women@Work, we’re committed to building inclusive and equitable workplaces by tackling one of the most subtle yet pervasive barriers to diversity: bias. Understanding and mitigating these biases is crucial for fostering a workspace where every employee feels welcomed, valued, and understood.

Our Comprehensive Solutions

We provide an array of solutions designed to help organizations identify, acknowledge, and overcome unconscious biases, thereby promoting a more diverse, inclusive, and harmonious work environment.

Awareness Programs: Our specially designed programs aim to educate employees on the nature and implications of unconscious bias. By recognizing their own biases, individuals can better understand how these biases affect their perception of others and their behavior in the workplace.
Long-Term Interventions: Recognizing biases is the first step, but real change comes from sustained effort and commitment. Our long-term interventions are customized to encourage continuous reflection and learning. We aim to help organizations cultivate a culture that acknowledges unconscious bias and actively seeks to diminish its impact on decision-making.
Activity-based program to understand bias: At Ananya-Women@Work we create programs specially designed for the participants to experience biases at play. One such program is the “Health Conclave”, making use of a theme-based activity for participants to experience or observe biases that may influence decisions during stretch assignments at the workplace.

In the journey-based intervention, participants learners reframe their beliefs and limitations, paving the way forward in their careers. Through the various activities, they embark on a path of self-discovery and collaboration with peers, enabling them to address real-time challenges and uncover new possibilities. The programs also assist participants in identifying and leveraging their distinct strengths to foster further growth and success.

Unconscious bias at work leads to

33%

feeling alienated,

34%

withholding ideas, and

80%

not making referrals

Source

A survey found workers facing workplace bias were

Source

33%

more likely to feel alienated and

100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women were promoted

Source

60%

of employees believe their workplace is biased

Source

21%

of adults over 50 experience discrimination after turning 40

Source

faq's

You Asked, We Answered : Unconscious Bias

Why Is It Important to Understand Bias In The Workplace?

Understanding of bias is crucial for creating an inclusive and equitable work environment. It helps ensure that decisions around hiring, promotions, and everyday interactions are based on objective criteria rather than subconscious preferences, leading to a more diverse,dynamic, and engaged workplace.

How Can Bias Affect Decision-making?

Biases can skew our perceptions and judgments, leading to decisions that may not align with our conscious beliefs or the organization’s best interests. This can affect various aspects of the workplace including the entire employee lifecycle.

How Do Awareness Programs Help In Combating Bias?

Awareness programs help individuals recognize the existence and impact of their own conscious and unconscious biases. By bringing these biases to light, employees can begin to consciously adjust their perceptions and behaviors, which is the first step toward minimizing the influence of these biases on their decisions and actions.

Can Addressing Bias Improve Workplace Diversity?

Yes, effectively addressing bias can significantly improve workplace diversity. By ensuring that employment decisions are made based on merit rather than biased perceptions, organizations can create a more inclusive environment that attracts and retains a diverse workforce.

How Can My Organization Get Started With Addressing Unconscious Bias?

To begin addressing unconscious bias within your organization, contact Ananya Women@Work to learn more about our programs. We can help assess your specific needs and recommend a tailored approach to foster an inclusive and equitable workplace culture.

our happy customers

Testimonials

I thank you for making such a great exclusive women@work workshop, which is a must need for all women, especially working women. Heartfully appreciate the good work of the Ananya team in spreading awareness about leadership.

Meeting different people at one table are a great experience - one software professional, one teacher, one businesswoman, etc. Great experience taking advice from all of them to reach my SMART goal.

Thank you for such a wonderful workshop. It gave us more confidence &courage to take lead of our life. It gave us focus to work more towards my women empowerment. Now I am confident to focus on things I am passionate about and my career as well.

I thank you for taking us through a journey of self-realization and the opportunity to meet other inspiring women leaders. Also, I have gotten some ideas on the importance of networking.

Wonderful workshop. This helped me focus on myself and how to execute my plan for growth. I would definitely recommend the workshop to other women. Excellent to understand self and develop.

Indeed, I must say your session was a personally and professionally inspiring one...It helped in knowing myself and the take away from it helps me in tackling women’s issues in both personal and professional front in my day to day life.

Started to rethink whatever I Speak and Whatever I do be it at Work or Home...Looks like Ananya…..Spirit is Spreading Very Very FAST Around.

Other Programs

Biases are human. Bias is a social stereotype one holds about certain groups of people, impacting the people-decisions. Our systemic interventions help build awareness of the biases and mitigate their impact by bringing about behavioural change and in the process furthering the inclusion agenda in your organisation.

Project Inclusion

Our end-to-end DEI consulting model supports organisations in the journey to create a culture of belonging through Intentional Inclusion. We work with your organisation to further your organisation’s goal of building an inclusive culture and moving from intent to impact.

Women's Leadership Potential

Ananya-Women@Work is our flagship program for women in their mid-management position to unleash their leadership potential. The journey-based program for women complements your organisation’s effort in building a strong talent pipeline for leadership positions.

Mentoring & Coaching

Mentoring and Coaching have been long recognized to benefit the mentees, the coachees and the organisation. The gains to the mentor/coach are, now, also being recognized and recorded. We support your organisation in building a culture where mentoring becomes a way of life.

Employee Assistance Program

We work with you to build programs/interventions based on your unique needs and organisational culture. These need-based and transformational interventions are designed especially to truly inspire, influence and Impact results.

PoSH

Everyone has a right to be treated with respect and dignity. Moving beyond the mandate of “Sexual Harassment of at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013”, we support your organisation to build a culture where respect and dignity thrive.