No matter where, when, or how we grew up, we were surrounded by information that influenced how we think about the world and other people. These patterns of thinking result in biases, and often we are not even aware of them. However, these biases can cause harm. Whether conscious or unconscious, acting on negative biases results in interpersonal harm as well as harmful laws and policies, unwelcoming work environments, and unfair practices.

The following video from Britain's Royal Society explains how unconscious biases form, how they can cause harm, and how they plan to begin addressing unconscious bias.

Identifying our own biases can be hard work, but there are resources to help, and campus activities and organizations to support us as we work to change our thought patterns and our behaviors  to create inclusive and respectful environments for all members of our diverse community.

Developing an awareness of unconscious bias, and even identifying our own unconscious biases is only a first step and by itself is not effective in creating more inclusive and equitable outcomes for all members of our communities. It is critical for us, individually and collectively, to work to counter-act our own biases and to work together to counter-act the effect of biases in our classrooms, meetings, and hiring processes. 

Olympic College invites and encourages every member of our campus community to participate in equity education and events from our DEI office.