Education Recap: Bias & Microaggressions with Dr. Khalilah Shabazz
On April 27, Dr. Khalilah Shabazz delivered the workshop "Addressing Bias & Microaggressions in the Meeting & Event Industry" to the MPI Indiana Chapter. Here are some of the top takeaways from the session:
As meeting professionals, part of our job is to create environments where people can enter with their full identities, including but not limited to their race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and physical abilities. Put yourself in the shoes of someone with different identities than you and consider how they would experience your meeting.
What is bias?
Bias is the tendency to favor one entity over another. It can skew positive or negative. Explicit bias is bias that people knowingly hold on a conscious level. Implicit bias is bias that people unknowingly hold and express without conscious awareness.
Our biases can become activated in situations when we don't have enough information, when we have too much information (overload), when we're not fully paying attention, or when we are under time pressure.
Biases can be useful in everyday life to help with quick decision-making and detecting danger. However, biases can be applied incorrectly, reinforcing stereotypes and prejudices.
What are microaggressions?
Microaggressions are everyday slights, snubs, and insults that can be intentional or unintentional and communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to someone based on their membership in a particular group. Microaggressions can include things like being visibly surprised by someone's intelligence or leadership role, or moving away from someone in a store because you feel like they are a threat because of their race.
Bias & microaggressions in the meetings industry
Bias and microaggressions exist throughout the meetings & events industry, including areas such as:
-
Hiring & promotions – Are staff and leaders diverse in various ways?
-
Venue accessibility & inclusivity – Does your venue accommodate different ability levels? Are gender inclusive restrooms readily available? Do you accommodate religious & dietary meal needs?
-
Programming – Who is being invited to speak & host?
-
Vendor selection – Are you working with vendors of diverse sizes, ownership, staff?
-
Planning teams – Who is represented?
Strategies to address biases & prevent microaggressive behaviors
-
Diversify your experiences
-
Be aware of your own identities and privileges
-
Examine your own biases and be willing to explore things that make you uncomfortable
-
Listen & be empathetic
-
Hold others accountable for derogatory behavior
-
If you have a platform, step aside and provide space for others to speak
-
Develop or refresh your organization's diversity philosophy & goals (or for yourself personally)
-
Determine a process for collecting feedback about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and establish a reporting protocol for issues
-
Be conscious of implicit bias when determining who is planning your meeting, who is attending, whose perspectives are most visible, and if there are barriers to attending & participating
Additional resources:
Leave a commentOrder by
Newest on top Oldest on top