The bad news is that (so far) there is no durable cure for implicit bias. Not for yours; not for mine. The good news is that this does not matter. The other good news is that there is something you can do about explicit bias, and this does matter.

What is implicit bias?

Implicit bias is a non-conscious inclination to show preference for or prejudice against certain humans and other things. Indicators point to the fact that implicit bias is nature and nurture driven. It’s a brain bug. It’s also a feature. It helps humans make sense of the world using one of most our ancient and accessible tools: pattern making. It’s why we match an image of an old person with words like slow and fragile faster than we match that same image to words like quick and agile. It’s why Asian women who are reminded of their gender, match words like “math” more slowly than when they are reminded of their Asian heritage.

Despite companies spending millions on implicit bias training, the most realistic optimal result is awareness. If the first step is admitting we have a problem, then awareness is a good thing. You can become aware of the existence and degree of your own implicit bias with a tool like Harvard Implicit Bias Association Test (IAT). For free. Many have taken this test and become aware that implicit bias exists…and that they have it. Many have taken the test again. Yep. Still there.

What’s explicit bias?

Explicit bias is a conscious inclination to show preference or prejudice. It’s why we prefer and favor like-minded humans. Explicit bias creates inequality and reduces all kinds of diversity. We can control this type of bias. And we should. The question is: are we willing to do what it takes?

It’s not shocking that celebrity, wealthy, and highly networked folks use influence to gain access and advantage. We know this. Still, it may be shocking to learn about parents in China paying pros to take college entrance exams for their kids, or about actors paying college admission influencers to slip their kid into a spot they haven’t earned. We may take a college admissions counselor out for coffee or hire an athletic trainer with ties to an impressive school, but we would never actually pay a test-taker, coach, or admissions officer to cheat or lie for our kid!

We may not have our family names emblazoned on buildings, endowments, or impressive foundations, but it does not shock us to know what development professionals know: offering naming rights to buildings and endowment opportunities is a most effective way to fundraise. Seeing who donates, how much, and to what, influences our own decisions.

True confession.

In your job searches have you always uploaded your un-enhanced resume to the suggested online portal (or mailed to the suggested address), without contacting friends or LinkedIn connections to flag it? Have you ever contacted someone in your network to help your kid or friend navigate a job search? Have you always ignored that pesky adage that our network is our net worth?

Are you truly curious about how you can reduce the explicit bias that contributes to inequality? If so, there are things you can do. These things are hard. Really hard. Harder than becoming aware of your own implicit bias. Harder than writing this article (believe me).

Minimum Viable Solution (aka 3 things you can do)

1. Reduce inequitable opportunities. Stop helping your kid get into college by hiring a college counselor, making a non-anonymous donation, or enlisting your contacts. If this sounds like I’m being facetious, I’m not. If this sounds hard, it is. I warned you. Doing these things for your kid perpetuates inequality. Don’t believe it? Read the findings (and suggestions) of the original implicit bias researchers.  If you choose to ignore this advice, that’s okay because there’s more that you can do to provide equitable opportunities. Find kids without the means or social network to take advantage of these jumpstarts and pay for their college counselors, and hook them up with contacts that can grease their entry into the things that separate the haves from the have nots.
2. Reduce inequitable opportunities. Encourage your company to offer only paid internships (with money, not college credit). Yes, this will mean that your company may not be able to offer invaluable job experience. Yes, it may mean that your company must forgo taking advantage of free labor. Yes, it means that your own kid may not gain these invaluable job skills. These are clear downsides. However, adopting this policy does mean that the kids who can afford to take unpaid internships won’t edge ahead of those who can’t. The gate to income inequality opens where income starts.  If your company chooses to ignore your advice, that’s okay because there’s more that you can do to provide equitable opportunities. Establish a fund to turn unpaid internships into paid internships.
3. Reduce inequitable opportunities. Stop helping your kid (or friend or friend’s kid) get a job by contacting your network, making a donation, hiring a career coach, or subsidizing an unpaid internship. If this sounds ridiculous, it isn’t. Doing these things perpetuates inequality.  If you choose to ignore this advice, that’s okay because there’s more that you can do to provide equitable opportunities. Look outside your network for kids whose net worth suffers from a less powerful network. Help by hiring them a career coach, subsidizing unpaid internships, and connecting them with influential folks in your network who can help them get the type of jobs you want for your kids.

Do you care about fairness? Do you think that fairness applies to opportunity and not to outcome? Or, do you think that fairness applies to both opportunity and outcome? Either way, it makes sense to start with opportunity.

You want to reduce inequality that comes from explicit bias? You have two options. You can either reduce inequitable opportunities or provide equitable opportunities.

Does removing inequitable opportunity reduce inequality more than attempting to provide equitable opportunity? If what constitutes opportunity is clearer than what constitutes equality, the answer is yes.

We may not be able to buy our way out of this one. If you want to pull out the roots of explicit bias and reduce inequality, the branches of opportunity you fail to climb may have to be your own.

In case you’re curious about how to go beyond awareness and explore Minimum Viable Solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems, contact Applied Curiosity Lab about our Critical Thinking, Applied Curiosity, and Cognitive Biases (Busting Brain Bugs) Workshops.