2000301 - "Who Do You Think You Are?": Identity and Unconscious Bias at Work

Course Description

The workplace is a diverse and dynamic place. Successfully working with those who are different from you is a skill and mindset that is highly valued by employers. McKinsey and Company identified fostering inclusiveness, understanding biases and adopting different perspectives as some of the skills required for the future workplace. (source: McKinsey & Company - Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work)

The interactive content and activities in this course encourage reflection and skill development to help you navigate and value difference in the workplace in ways that can make you a more inclusive coworker, manager or policy-maker. You can work at your own pace to gain the skills essential to working in diverse teams and being able to communicate shared goals and priorities that transcend differences and facilitate better work outcomes.

The course consists of four (4) modules and will take you approximately four (4) hours to complete. Upon successful completion of the final assessment (scenario-based quiz), you will receive a digital badge (micro-certification).

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify aspects of your social/cultural identity and how your identity influences how you see others and how they see you
• Recognize how your implicit biases can affect your behaviour more than your conscious values
• Evaluate your own implicit biases and critically reflect on how they influence your view of others
• Reflect on how others' biases may impact you
• Interpret a situation or problem from multiple perspectives
• Use social/cultural self-awareness, bias-awareness and perspective-taking skills to work effectively in a diverse team using specific techniques acquired in the course

Course Topics

• Cultural Self-Awareness: Understanding the Ways in Which One’s Culture has Influenced One’s Identity and Worldview
• Bias Awareness: Understanding Both Conscious and Implicit Bias and How Implicit Bias can Influence Behaviour More than Conscious Values
• Perspective Taking: Understanding the World from Others’ Perspectives
• Diverse Team Competencies: Competencies that Contribute to Valuing and Including Diverse Backgrounds and Perspectives in a Team Environment

Assessment