Does Bias Training Work?

The Intersection of Racial Injustice and Bias Training

By Chris Jones

When going through old documents, I found this half-written blog and thought I’d dust it off and take it for a spin.

Waaaaaay back in 2020, a study showed that implicit bias training changes minds, but not necessarily behavior.  The study seems quaint now, given that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work, has been made illegal or banned according to the implementation of Project 2025 and a slew of Executive Orders. This particular study focused on law enforcement behavior – which also seems quaint given the cooperation of police departments in many states with ICE and Border Patrol agents from the Department of Homeland Security. The law enforcement study was based in New York City.

Joshua Correll, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studies racial bias, had this to say:

Expecting that we can take people in and train them to reduce their implicit bias — I don’t think it’s been supported by the literature. ~ Joshua Correll

According to everything I’ve been able to find, Professor Correll is correct.

Assumption #1 – Employees who feel included are more engaged.

When I studied with Cornell, one of the things that has stuck with me is that employee satisfaction and employee engagement are not the same thing – although they are often conflated. For example, an employee might be satisfied with their job because it is close to home, they have a lovely cafeteria and regular pay increases have resulted in a very nice income for easy work. This employee is not looking for another job. An engaged employee might be the one who is always coming up with new ideas for process or product improvements, they are interested in career progression and they can be counted on to get the difficult job done. This employee might be looking for another job and will stay until they find one.

An employee who feels included is one where they feel valued, heard and welcomed for their authentic selves. An employee who feels included could be satisfied, or engaged or both. An employee who feels included, is likely to be engaged. Here are a few tips to help employees feel included.

• Active Listening & Input: Being actively listened to when asking questions, with colleagues valuing your input without judgment.
• Inclusive Communication: Colleagues using your name to identify you rather than just pronouns.
• Proactive Outreach: When someone specifically thinks about you and reaches out, ensuring you are not forgotten.
• Thoughtful Scheduling: Ensuring meetings or social events don’t conflict with cultural, religious or personal obligations.
• Adjustments for Needs: Managers proactively providing accommodations for disabilities, such as flexible hours or remote work. Employee engagement measures the psychological attachment workers have to their work, their team and their employer. Gallup meta-analyses over the years have consistently shown a strong relationship between employee engagement and business-unit productivity, including profitability and sales.

Assumption #2 – Change must happen on the individual level

I used to believe that people needed to be ‘fixed’ or at least be made aware of their biases. I now believe that bias awareness is nice to have, but not must have. If there is an inappropriate behavior occurring, the behavior needs to change – with or without the actual mindset of the individual changing.

• Example: Someone may be intentionally leaving a colleague off a meeting invite, when that individual should be included. The system change could be development of a checklist of who needs to be invited to what type of meeting, so that omissions don’t occur.
• Example: Public reprimands are psychological safety killers. A system-wide change could make clear which discussions need to be one on one and in private. This would be a policy change.
• Example: If an employee believes they are being passed over due to their basic demographic characteristics such as being neurodiverse, and needing minor accommodations, they can sue. A lawsuit is not great for either party, but is a reality. In FY 2022, the EEOC filed 91 employment discrimination lawsuits, including 53 suits seeking relief for individuals, 25 non-systemic suits with multiple victims and 13 systemic suits. This resulted in just under $40 million in monetary relief for 1,461 individuals.

One solution: Adopt an international standard

In 2021 the International Standard Organization (ISO) released its international standard for Diversity and Inclusion: ISO-30415:DISM (Diversity & Inclusion Services Management). This company-wide framework provides guidance on diversity and inclusion for organizations, including their governance body, human resources, product development, supplier diversity and other constituents. ISO-30415:DISM is consistent with:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.
• The International Labor Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) “that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: (5) Gender Equality, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth and (10) Reduced Inequality

ISO-30415 considers 27different types of diversity – a huge increase from the six or seven normally collected in employee surveys. It also assigns roles and responsibilities to keep governance, executives, management as well as employees accountable for their action. It is not a program, but an overall diversity and inclusion system management structure.

“ISO-30415 is my hope for DEIA continuing into the future.” ~ Chris Jones, Spectra Diversity, CEO

Source: NPR, “NYPD Study: Implicit Bias Training Changes Minds, Not Necessarily Behavior”, Martin Kaste, Sept. 10, 2020

Source: The New York Times, “Faces of Power: 80% Are White, Even as U.S. Becomes More Diverse”, Denise Lu, Jon Huang, Ashwin Seshagiri, Haeyoun Park, Troy Griggs, Sept. 9, 2020