The Bias Within Everyone
Within Google
According to the article "Exposing Hidden Bias at Google" at www.nytimes.com, it appears that within Google there is a substantially dominant amount of males over females. Google is saying that they are attempting to remove the bias differences. However, "The company has no solid evidence that the workshops, or many of its other efforts to improve diversity are actually working." (As quoted from the article itself.
However, this is also apparent in many other similar industries like Apple and Yahoo
The Quality Everyone Shares
You can do your best to try to stop being biased, but it's inside everyone. No matter how much you attempt to deny it. It's there. Discrimination and prejudice is a human trait that is embedded into our culture.
Laszlo Bock gave a lecture stating exactly that. The article states that Mr. Bock's statement was a fact rather than an opinion.
The fact that Google is attempting to equal out the gender roles in their company is a good role model, and other companies should attempt to do this as well. When people decides one's fate they should view them equally and have the same standards for both men and women. Women can do the job just as well as men, possibly even better.
I agree that all humans have at least a slight amount of bias within them. It is undeniable. However, although a small amount of bias belief cannot be stopped, one does not have to display a great amount of bias. Also, your bias does not even have to be displayed to others. Though you may think it, do your best to not let it show. Perhaps it will be a step towards equality.
For my money, I got to say I agree with what you're trying to say. It's true that bias is hidden inside each and every individual and whether we decide to show it or not is all up to the individual. I particularly like your statement "though you may think it, do your best to not let it show" because if every person took this advice, we could live in a less discriminated world.
ReplyDeleteI agree on that everyone has a little bit of bias within themselves. However, I disagree with your statement "Also, your bias does not even have to be displayed to others." It is true that one has the ability to control the amount of bias they use but I don't think there is a way to appear as not bias.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, cool blog title. Second, I agree with every single point you made on this post. It was insightful and it provided me with a new perspective on bias. I got a little confused on your last paragraph where you stated that we don't even have to display our bias, like I think everyone somehow has already shown bias towards something. But other than that, I like your post because you're showing people the obvious, but they don't realize it yet: we need to stop showing our bias and maybe the world we live in could be less prejudiced eventually.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Google has stepped in as a leader by exposing the pervasiveness of unconscious bias. To move onto a matter, isn't saying " Women can do the job just as well as men, possibly even better.". an example of favoritism? Women shouldn't exceed men and vise versa.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that everyone has a least a little bit of bias within them, and when people become aware of this they can focus on minimizing the unconscious biased views from within themselves. I agree with your point that "even though you might feel it, do your best to not let it show". We were taught this as children, but still some people do not get it. If the entire world thought this way then we would have a much more friendly and diverse society.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, the more that I think about it, the more I see bias in everyday life- from assuming that the Asian kid in your class got 100 on the test, to saying Lydia (alias) is a slut because she's black and wears crop tops. When reading that last sentence, we shouldn't act appalled or scorn whoever wrote it, because although harsh, no one can deny that we naturally /think/ unintentional bias every day. Your line "though you may think it, do your best not to let it show" sums up the sad truth of society, because nobody has thought up a solution that will please everyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the claim that everyone has a little bit of bias in them but perhaps the reason why the workshops are not working is because there is no bias in the first place. Perhaps there just happens to be more men interested in the tech industry which is understandable. Signaling out biases as the main culprit before looking at other factors can skew our interpretations of data.
ReplyDeleteNice job addressing and referring back to the article in a simple and clean fashion. It was also nice how you automatically addressed the reader by saying that "You can do your best to try to stop being biased." It makes the reader feel more involved or more inclined to read on or make a change. Now, I agree with your point that bias will always be present even in the most minuscule amount as well as your idea to "do your best to not let it show." It's an obvious statement that should be regarded as a general rule among communities concerning bias; however, we seem to overlook that express our bias in a multitude of ways be it extravagant or not. If everybody followed your advice, I'm certain we would face less discrimination in society.
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