Erasing Institutional Bias

All humans have bias, and as a result, so do the institutions we build. Internationally sought after diversity consultant Tiffany Jana offers concrete ways for anyone to work against institutional bias no matter what their position is in an organization. Building upon the revelatory power of her book Overcoming Bias, which addressed managing individual and interpersonal bias, Erasing Institutional Bias scales up the framework to impact systemic change in organizations. Jana and coauthor Ashley Diaz Mejias bring together in-depth research on how biases become embedded into workplace cultures with practical and engaging tools that will mobilize readers toward action. They confront specific topics such as racism, sexism, hiring and advancement bias and retribution bias, meaning when organizations develop a culture of aggression, and offer solutions for identifying and controlling them. This book urges readers to ask questions such as, “Are we attempting to create systems in which all people can thrive? What kind of world and what kind of workplaces are we cultivating?” These questions, the authors say, must first be answered by ourselves, recognizing our own role in perpetuating harmful biases that come to define institutions. In a world divided, Erasing Institutional Bias is designed to raise awareness about imbalances and help us hold ourselves accountable for creating a world that works for everyone. Each of us can evaluate our own current role in perpetuating systemic bias and define our new role in breaking it down. Jana and Mejias inspire and equip us so that we can all affect organizational change, together.