Organizations worldwide continue to ask questions about unconscious bias – how do biases affect business results, organizational structure, internal and external communications, client relations, etc.?
More importantly, organizations are looking for the answer to this key question: How do we manage and minimize the negative effects of unconscious bias in the workplace?
Join program Instructor Shakil Choudhury (Anima Leadership) on May 11 (Calgary) or on May 12 (Edmonton) for Cultural Competence, Diversity, and Inclusion. Increase your cultural competence skills, develop bias awareness, and identify potential cultural awareness blind spots.
About the Presenter
Shakil is a diversity and leadership consultant with more than 20 years’ experience leading and building teams locally, nationally, and internationally. An award-winning educator and author of Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us vs. Them, he specializes in anti-discrimination and equity issues, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence.
In a recent interview, we spoke with Shakil who told us why he is excited about this program.
A number of things excite me about this program. There are a lot of problems that seem intractable, such as bias involving race, ethnicity, sexism, etc. The Deep Diversity approach is hopeful because it starts with the ways in which we as a human species function. This approach is built on a foundation of justice and compassion, with an intersection of psychology, biology, and sociology. This approach has a lot of practical applications that people will be able to use in their personal and professional lives. The Deep Diversity approach has been proven to support the trajectory towards more fairness and democracy in society as a whole as well as in the context of organizations.”
Sneak Preview
Shakil also gave us a sneak preview of what you can expect from this program. Here’s what he had to say.
What topics will you cover in this program?
The main topic I will be discussing is the role of unconscious bias and emotions in our day-to-day judgments. When it comes to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc., there are a lot of things that happen under the radar of awareness. This impacts the decisions we make and outcomes in the broader world.”
What will attendees will find most beneficial about this program?
First, attendees are going to recognize how much the unconscious mind affects our day-to-day lives. In the context of the legal profession, we’re going to learn that we may not be as objective as we think and that even though we are well-intentioned, thoughtful, and egalitarian in our perspectives, there are all kinds of decision-making biases that directly impact our personal and professional lives. People are also going to walk away with some information about themselves and about the human condition. For those of us who care about fairness and wanting to be objective, it starts by acknowledging that we have biases and we are affected by other people’s identities and by our own identity.
What are some of the key takeaways attendees will gain from this program?
Attendees will come away with a better understanding of three key ideas. First, they will gain a better understanding about how unconscious bias functions in our professional and personal interactions. Second, attendees will leave with a heightened sense of awareness of how to identify the impacts of bias and how the identity of clients, co-workers, and other professionals may be affecting their judgment. Third, attendees will better understand how to reduce bias in the decision-making process and in their professional lives.
Register Online
Learn the role of the unconscious mind in human interactions and how this results in micro-inequities in workplaces, the legal profession, and society at large. Discover and contextualize implicit bias theory, explore the concepts of emotional intelligence and its role in uncovering unconscious bias, discuss bias reduction strategies, and more. Register online to attend Cultural Competence, Diversity, and Inclusion on May 11 (Calgary) or May 12 (Edmonton).
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