Understanding Our Unconscious Biases 0 CPE

What are our biases and how do we acquire them?  How do they serve us and how do they harm us?  All these questions and more will be answered in this practical course.

When our biases are unconscious they may lead to bad decisions and discrimination.  Once we uncover them we have a better chance of controlling them.

We’ve all been taught that we can’t discriminate in hiring, promoting, etc.  BUT, most of us do discriminate without knowing it.  I can recall working with a Vice-President of Human Relations who hired someone because they went to the same college. They didn’t know each other at school – the bias, clearly unconscious was because “like likes like.”

I offer you this example because bias is not merely about racial, religious or political prejudice, but it includes many other types that we will discuss and help you uncover.

Finally, we offer suggestions as to how you can uncover and control your own biases.

Prerequisites

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Learning Objective

• Explore a range of biases common to us all
• Identify which biases pertain to them
• Discover ways to bring those biases to the surface
• Explore ways to avoid reacting from their own biases.

Last updated/reviewed: July 11, 2025