Dr. Sondra Thiederman, Author at American Diversity Report

All posts by Dr. Sondra Thiederman

Dr. Thiederman has 30 years-experience as a speaker, trainer, and author on the topics of bias reduction and workplace inclusion. Since receiving her doctorate from UCLA in cross-cultural studies, she has helped professionals in Fortune 500 companies, public sector organizations, and dozens of associations find ways to work more comfortably and effectively in an increasingly diverse environment. Sondra has served on the Diversity Cabinet of the American Red Cross, is an Expert Panelist for the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks, and been widely featured in the media including mention in The Wall Street Journal, U.S.A. Today, and The New York Times. She is the author of six books including, The Diversity and Inclusion Handbook and 3 Keys for Defeating Unconscious Bias: Watch, Think, Act.

Don’t you love being right? I sure do. I think that’s one reason most of us are afflicted with what’s called “confirmation bias” – the pesky habit of noticing only the evidence that proves our previously held beliefs correct. In other words, we see what we expect to see.

This is where our biases – our inflexible beliefs about categories of people – trick us into jumping to the wrong conclusions. Once we get it into our heads that members of particular groups “all” – because they are members of that group – share a particular characteristic, our brain just can’t resist proving that bias right.

Continue reading Overcoming Bias: A Guide to Skilled Skepticism – by Sondra Thiederman →

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