Tools to Mitigate Prejudice

The Validation and Pause Process

Because bias is invisible and involuntary, there is no quick "vaccine" to eliminate it, but there are methods to manage it. The fundamental strategy is conscious pause.

Before making a decision that affects a person (hiring, feedback, project assignment), we must stop the automatic process and subject ourselves to honest self-interrogation.

If we detect an immediate resistance or preference toward someone, we must validate it with specific questions: Am I evaluating this person based on objective data or a gut feeling? Would my judgment be the same if this person were of a different gender, race, or age? Am I being influenced by the opinion of the dominant group?

For example, if we feel that a co-worker is "difficult," we must ask ourselves if that perception comes from a real conflict or if they simply have a different communication style than we do.

Making this questioning a routine, especially when we are upset or under pressure, transforms the automatic reaction into a value-based response.

Network Expansion and Active Empathy

Another powerful tool for rewiring the brain is intentional diversification of our environment. Biases feed on habit and homogeneity.

Research suggests that people who maintain genuine, close relationships with individuals from groups different from their own (whether by sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, etc.) develop less prejudiced attitudes.

It is not enough to "tolerate" diversity; we must actively seek it out. If our network of professional trust is composed only of people who look and think like us, it is difficult to break patterns of biased thinking.

Finally, empathy is the key competency. It is not just about feeling sorry, but about doing the intellectual and emotional exercise of putting ourselves in the other person's situation.

As the analogy goes: if humanity was able to develop the technology to walk on the moon, we certainly have the ability to learn to walk in our colleagues' shoes to understand their experience and build truly inclusive teams.

Summary

Because bias is involuntary, the fundamental strategy is to apply a conscious pause before making decisions about people. We must honestly self-interrogate to validate whether we are evaluating based on objective data or whether the person's gender influences.

We need to intentionally diversify our professional environment, as biases feed on homogeneity and habit. Maintaining genuine and close relationships with people from groups different from one's own is essential to break biased thinking patterns.

Active empathy is the key competency, which goes beyond feeling pity and seeks to understand the experience of others. If we are capable of technological breakthroughs, we have the ability to learn to put ourselves in the shoes of our colleagues.