Excerpted from SHRM blog by Jonathan Segal

We all know that not all bias is conscious. Some bias is unconscious—often, referred to as implicit bias.

This means that we may be engaging in bias without even knowing we are doing so. This is most likely to occur when we make snap judgments.

For example, most of us have read about, or at least heard of, studies that demonstrate the name on an application affects the likelihood a candidate will be selected for an interview. Men do better than women and candidates with names that are often associated with people of color are less likely to be selected than those with names that are not. In other words, Kesha will get fewer interviews than Karen, and Karen fewer than Kevin.

To help bring implicit bias to conscious awareness, some employers are using tests designed to measure implicit bias. One popular example is the Harvard Implicit Awareness Test (“IAT”).

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