The latest international research by Catalyst (2010) shows that unconscious bias against women in the workplace places the female talent pipeline in peril. Moreover, it is apparent that the impact of unconscious bias is not confined to issues of gender but extends to ethnicity, race, religion, age, sexual orientation and other groups in the workplace too. Once awareness of bias is raised from the unconscious to the conscious level, attitudes and behaviours change to improve the quality of decision-making processes; resulting in a far reaching impact on organisational performance (Cook Ross 2008).

With this in mind, Diversity Consulting’s cutting-edge new program aimed at leaders is designed specifically to identify and overcome unconscious bias which hinders the retention and advancement of diverse groups in the workplace.

Integrating tools and expertise of Diversity Consulting’s international team, our unique approach to the topic of Unconscious Bias is a blend of assessment and interactive learning – catalysts for systemic and individual change in the workplace. The methodologies employed in this program are all innovative, challenging and highly engaging:

• Cognizant
A leading edge assessment tool completed on-line which provides leaders with in- depth insight into their own hierarchy of unconscious bias. When made conscious of what these biases are, leaders are coached on how to master and overcome them


• Audience Response System
The ARS radically enhances the learning experience at the workshop by probing the collective perceptions of the leaders on the diversity issues under consideration. By reason of the anonymity ARS provides, it allows for complete honesty in the responses.


• The Diversity Challenge
Diversity Consulting’s leading-edge interactive training tool is designed to challenge mindsets, shift perceptions and help break through traditional barriers and personal defences.



PROCESS
Step 1	Workshop 1, attended by a group of leaders, focuses on what unconscious bias is, where it comes from, how bias influences us all, and cutting-edge research on how bias impacts on the everyday decisions we make in the workplace.
Step 2	Each leader completes Cognizant online assessment (20 minutes) to identify his or her own hierarchy of bias.
Step 3	A one-on-one confidential debrief session (face-to-face or telephonic) by a skilled Diversity coach is provided for each leader to deliver personal results on Cognizant and to formulate a personal development plan.
Step 4	Workshop 2 focuses on the leadership group’s profile on Cognizant (highlighting the collective impact of their bias on the organisation) and engages leaders in generating personal and systemic strategies to manage and overcome bias.

Please contact us for more information on this or any other product.