DS News - HSBC

66 2018 AMDC Diversity Spotlight ough being diverse and inclusive is a priority for most businesses in the housing industry, according to Charmaine Brown, Director, External Outreach and Engagement in Fannie Mae's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), implicit biases among leaders are keeping those goals at arm's length. In partnership with the American Mortgage Diversity Council and the Five Star Institute, Brown recently presented a webinar titled "Understanding the Effect of Implicit Bias." In it, she delved into the hidden, unconscious biases that are plaguing today's business leaders—as well as what leaders can do to overcome them and achieve true diversity. According to Brown, there are three levels on the continuum of diversity in the workplace: Level 1, in which progress is measured by recruitment and retention goals; Level 2, which focuses on "looking the part"; and Level 3, in which diversity is viewed as a valuable resource and "unique perspectives are provided and shape the organization." Ultimately, organizations need to get to Level 3 in order to be truly diverse and inclusive, but Brown said implicit biases are standing in the way. In fact, even leaders who don't think they're biased probably are. "Bias, in some people's minds, is synonymous with discrimination," Brown said during her presentation. "You may think, 'Well, I'm a fair person. I can't be biased,' 'I only focus on the bottom line. I can't be biased,' 'I'm colorblind. I'm gender-blind.' I will tell you, as a D&I practitioner, being colorblind or gender-blind is not the answer to valuing differences and achieving inclusion." THE POWER OF IMPLICIT BIASES Many biases are rooted in the subconscious. e person may not even recognize that they're favoring one group, race, or gender, but, as Brown put it, they "communicate it through statements or actions, with no intent, no control." ese can often be the most influential biases of them all. "at, to me, can be pretty frightening, where you are not aware of what is influencing you," Brown said. "at is implicit bias, where there is a complete blind spot." Brown said there are five seeds of bias that, according to the Neuro-Leadership Institute's SEED Model, every human has. ese include: similarity bias ("favoring ourselves and those in our in-group"); expedience bias ("making rapid decisions based on assumptions"); experience bias ("believing our personal perceptions to be objectively accurate"); distance bias ("assigning greater value to immediate decisions vs. future decisions"); and safety bias ("feeling that bad overpowers good"). According to Brown, these biases can build upon each other, compounding over time. "ink about how biases—just like interest on capital—can be accrued based on people you favor," Brown said. "Over time, small differences in treatment can accumulate and cause major consequences in terms of how you're engaging your employees and your marketplace." THE 'US' VS. 'THEM' MINDSET According to Brown, stereotypes and attitudes play a role in bias, but "in-group and out-group behaviors" can be particularly dangerous. "You can really see in-group/out-group behav- iors playing out now in terms of the polarization that's happening in society," Brown said. "In-group is us against them. ere's always a 'them,' and there's always an 'us.' ese behaviors are danger- ous in and of themselves, but in business, they can really impact your bottom line and outcomes." Nor are in-group/out-group behaviors According to one of the industry's foremost D&I experts, we all have biases. How are yours affecting your business decisions— and your company's success? Here's how to find out. I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T / R A C H E L W I L L I A M S

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