Self-Check & Awareness

• Do I mentor or promote people who are similar to me?
• Do I assume certain roles belong to certain identities?
• Do I feel surprised by someone’s success?

Reflection Tip: These aren’t signs of failure—they’re invitations to grow. Bias thrives in the unconscious. Awareness disrupts it.

Everyday Strategies You Can Start Right Away

1. Pause and Reflect

• Use structured criteria for decisions.
• Create “bias checks” before major actions and decisions.

2. Diversify Voices and Perspectives

• Rotate who speaks first in meetings (ex., stick method).
• Invite input from less-heard perspectives via anonymous contributions or using methods like Reflect first, Share later, where individuals first engage in individual reflection on a topic or experience, before sharing their insights with others. 

3. Use Inclusive Language

• Avoid ableist, gendered, and elitist phrases (e.g., “crazy,” “manpower,” “third world”).¹
• Ask people how they wish to be addressed, for example ask people their name preferences and pronouns—and use them respectfully.

4. Systematize Fairness => Fair processes for everyone

• Use consistent rubrics in hiring and promotion to reduce personal bias.
• Look at disaggregated data (e.g., by gender, race, disability) to identify who is being hired, promoted, or leaving, as this can help to spot patterns of exclusion.
  Example: If you notice only men are getting promoted, it’s worth reviewing your process.

5. Accessibility First

• Use plain language in policies and documents - avoid jargon or complex terms. 
• Add visuals or icons to explain key steps or concepts.
• Follow accessibility guidelines like WCAG, and apply Universal Design principles to make spaces, tools, and communication usable by everyone.²
• Offer flexible service options e.g., in-person, phone, video call, or text-based support, so people can choose what works best for them.

6. Feedback as Inclusion

• Make it safe to speak up by showing that feedback leads to action, not punishment.³
• Normalize making changes based on input, and model accountability as a leader.
  Example: “Thank you for raising this point. I didn’t realize it, and I’ll adjust moving forward.”

Inclusive Communication Guidelines

• Ask, don’t assume (e.g., pronouns, support needs)
• Use person-first language (“person living with a disability”)
• Model inclusive meetings (check power dynamics, avoid tokenism)⁴
• Replace exclusionary terms (“at-risk” → “systemically underserved or underrepresented”)
• Normalize learning (respond with gratitude, not defensiveness)⁵

Here Are Some Examples of Community and Organizational Best Practices You Can Adopt:

• A team added a "bias review" during intake and saw improved client outcomes
• Job descriptions were rewritten with inclusive language, increasing applicant diversity
• A manager introduced blind resume reviews, uncovering untapped talent
• Youth services introduced “perspectives reviews” to account for race, gender, and ability in planning
• Human Resources or People and Culture added cultural and accessibility points to their priorities and their key indicators of success

Curious to Move Further in Uncovering Your Biases?

Project Implicit of Harvard University offers a free tool to start exploring where our unconscious biases might show up. It is called the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and it offers the opportunity to explore our unconscious biases across different categories.⁶

Please note: this is not a diagnostic test, but an invitation to be curious about where you may have an unconscious preference. If we have a brain, we are biased! Also, it is possible to be part of one group and to be biased against this same group. It is not a criticism about one self, but the beginning of the exploration of our biases.

Mitigating unconscious bias is not about being perfect, it’s about being present, informed, and willing to act. Bias doesn’t disappear, but it becomes less powerful when we see it, name it, and choose differently over time.

These strategies will support your commitment to building an equitable workplace and community, where everyone is seen, respected, and supported to thrive.