Diversity and Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is a large pill no one wants to swallow, or talk about. Why?
Implicit biases are the stereotypes of certain groups of people that are imbedded in us and in society. We all want to believe we are innately fair, but sometimes our initial feelings and thoughts about certain people are not all that fair or equal. Having implicit biases does not make us bad, it makes us human. As humans, we only know what we know based on our own experiences and perceptions, and it's from these experiences that we unconsciously make assumptions about people. With the simple realization that our brain is compiling old and new experiences and feelings all the time, we can override the unconscious segregated filing in our brain.
It's important for OT students and practitioners to learn about implicit bias because we will see a diverse group of individuals in fieldworks as students and in specific settings as practitioners, and we are expected to give the best services possible to anyone who needs it. It's a core value of mine that everyone deserves a fighting chance, no matter the situation, if they want it. As soon as we are aware of this implicit bias phenomenon, we can override our brain's instinctual bias reaction and instead use logic and objective observation to figure out who someone is. By approaching people as an individual instead of a stereotype, we can retrain our mind to be more inclusive and open-minded. Not letting our implicit biases effect us and our actions will not only shape who we are as individuals and practitioners, but also the profession of OT.
To address our own implicit biases, we have to first figure out what our individual implicit biases are. You can do this by taking implicit bias questionnaires or quizzes. We did this through https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/. From there, you can reflect on the results and think about how they effect you and the people around you. Obviously these assessments are not concrete, so try doing some honest reflection about your initial reactions to certain people or places and examine if they are fair or not. And, even though it can be uncomfortable at times, we should talk about implicit biases and try to make sense of them instead of being controlled by them.
I listened to the live recording of Coalition of OT Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) event called "You Cant Be What You Cant See: Prioritizing the Issues of Diversity in OT Leadership, Research, and Mentorship". In that session Dr. Gibbs said something that really stuck out to me. She said sight is done with the eyes and visions are done with the mind. I loved that because we can only see what is in front of us, but we can visualize beyond that. She was talking about how if the profession of OT was seen as diverse, it would not only diversify the workplace but also expand the services OT's can provide. It was beautiful and it all goes back to overriding our implicit biases. I loved this session!
Implicit biases are the stereotypes of certain groups of people that are imbedded in us and in society. We all want to believe we are innately fair, but sometimes our initial feelings and thoughts about certain people are not all that fair or equal. Having implicit biases does not make us bad, it makes us human. As humans, we only know what we know based on our own experiences and perceptions, and it's from these experiences that we unconsciously make assumptions about people. With the simple realization that our brain is compiling old and new experiences and feelings all the time, we can override the unconscious segregated filing in our brain.
It's important for OT students and practitioners to learn about implicit bias because we will see a diverse group of individuals in fieldworks as students and in specific settings as practitioners, and we are expected to give the best services possible to anyone who needs it. It's a core value of mine that everyone deserves a fighting chance, no matter the situation, if they want it. As soon as we are aware of this implicit bias phenomenon, we can override our brain's instinctual bias reaction and instead use logic and objective observation to figure out who someone is. By approaching people as an individual instead of a stereotype, we can retrain our mind to be more inclusive and open-minded. Not letting our implicit biases effect us and our actions will not only shape who we are as individuals and practitioners, but also the profession of OT.
To address our own implicit biases, we have to first figure out what our individual implicit biases are. You can do this by taking implicit bias questionnaires or quizzes. We did this through https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/. From there, you can reflect on the results and think about how they effect you and the people around you. Obviously these assessments are not concrete, so try doing some honest reflection about your initial reactions to certain people or places and examine if they are fair or not. And, even though it can be uncomfortable at times, we should talk about implicit biases and try to make sense of them instead of being controlled by them.
I listened to the live recording of Coalition of OT Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) event called "You Cant Be What You Cant See: Prioritizing the Issues of Diversity in OT Leadership, Research, and Mentorship". In that session Dr. Gibbs said something that really stuck out to me. She said sight is done with the eyes and visions are done with the mind. I loved that because we can only see what is in front of us, but we can visualize beyond that. She was talking about how if the profession of OT was seen as diverse, it would not only diversify the workplace but also expand the services OT's can provide. It was beautiful and it all goes back to overriding our implicit biases. I loved this session!
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