Stanford WIT, Bias Training

WIT is offering Bias training workshops; next session will be on Zoom

The workshop is based on VMWare Women's Leadership Innovation Lab https://womensleadership.stanford.edu/

Covers four common bias experiences for women in the workplace with mitigation strategies for each

• Prove It Again
  • Problem Summary: Women expected to provide more evidence of competence than men
  • Strategy Summary: 'The Posse': Have a group of people who praise your successes (while you celebrate theirs); make direct eye contact and statements
  • Discussion:
    • Seen in applying for positions -- women only apply when meeting 100% skills
    • Benefited from the posse -- team has a great culture for identifying the wins; being careful about language, eg 'They are so helpful.' 
    • Posse members can be women and men and non-binary people -- have an inclusive posse; learn to own your successes and take credit
• The Tightrope
  • Problem Summary: Diverging from gender norms can have negative consequences
  • Strategy Summary: 'Gender Judo' -- leverage feminine traits, mixed with masculine traits; Use the 'Strategic No': affirm existing participation, suggest alternative
  • Discussion: 
    • What to do when no one on the team wants to participate because the activity is perceived as pointless -- women might feel that 'someone has to do it' and volunteer; how to address in a positive way -- 'crowdsourcing' eg 'How does everyone feel about this use of time? Maybe have a side conversation with the person requesting the participation; maybe be an ally to the person who was about to volunteer and redirect the conversation before they do and then talk later; reach out to someone else and frame the opportunity in a way that they would like accept the role
    • Many participants asked: Why do we have to do this [gender judo] in the first place? This adds overhead. What to do instead? 
    • Taking on 'housework' can be seen as showing leadership potential
• The Maternal Wall
  • Problem Summary: When professional women have children their competence and commitment can be questioned; lots of Catch-22s
  • Strategy Summary: Provide information -- be explicit about career goals (wrt travel, relocation); 'this approach is working for my family'
  • Discussion:
    • One participant found that some stay-at-home moms have internalized a sense of devaluation of their contributions
    • Another participant suggested being planful about leaving the workforce; some recommendations for 43% podcast
    • 'Second Shift' full-time out-of-home job coupled with what is a full-time job at home
• The Tug of War
  • Problem Summary: Tension among female colleagues (applies to colleagues of any gender)
  • Strategy Summary: Lift each other up; make an enemy into an ally -- be direct, ask, 'Have I offended you? If so, I'd like to correct this.' 
  • Discussion:
    • One participant had conversation with someone who felt being undercut -- had immediate, direct conversation with person
    • Engage with person, form a personal relationship

Ping Christa Doane on Slack for mitigation strategies collected from other instances of the workshop.

Team will be doing an all-Zoom Bias session in the new year.