They played a role in establishing DEI, and even they acknowledge that it requires an overhaul
And the unconscious bias training that was supposed to produce antiracist allies? Turns out people hate being told they have hidden prejudices.
Dobbin’s research with fellow sociologist Alexandra Kalev found that diversity-training programs commonly involve unconscious bias tests for employees—rapid-fire word-association exercises with white and Black faces, for example. The drills push people to confront evidence of the invisible bigots living inside their brains.
Instead of feeling energized to improve, though, participants often respond with shame and anger.
“They tend to walk away from it thinking they’ve been accused of something they’re not really guilty of, which is the whole history of the United States when it comes to race and gender,” says Dobbin. “It really pisses people off.”
DEI is an important response to that history and has accomplished much, despite sometimes uneven execution, says Olivia Christian, who juggles dual careers as a sportscaster and consultant to employee-resource groups for women and people of color at Google, Visa, Amazon and other firms.
“Why should I be embarrassed, as a Black woman, about efforts to give people like me the chances we should have had all along?” she says.
