Breaking the Bias Habit®

Workshops to Promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

COVID-19 NOTICE:

Due to COVID-19 related restrictions on travel and large public gatherings, we regret being unable to offer this workshop. We will provide notice when restrictions are eased, or when we develop alternative methods for virtual delivery of this workshop.

The Breaking the Bias Habit^® workshops introduce academic audiences to the concepts of implicit or unconscious biases and assumptions about diverse groups of people by treating the application of such biases as a “habit.” Participants will uncover their own biases, discover the underlying concepts and language used in the psychological and social psychological literature to describe such processes, participate in interactive discussions about the potential influence of implicit or unconscious bias in their department/unit, and learn evidence-based strategies for reducing the application of these biases.

WISELI is currently offering two versions of the Breaking the Bias Habit^® workshops to institutions outside UW–Madison. Contact us for more information about the workshops, and costs for bringing the workshop to your institution.

The content and some of the materials from the gender bias workshop are available in the supplementary materials to our 2012 paper, “Promoting Institutional Change Through Bias Literacy.” See below for full reference.

For information about scheduling a Breaking the Bias^® workshop with a UW–Madison department or unit, click here.

Institutions Visited

University of Indiana – Purdue University at Indianapolis (UIPUI). March 28, 2017.
Washington State University. October 3, 2016.
American Family Insurance. July 27, 2016.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. April 2, 2016.
Kansas State University. February 2, 2016.
Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies. November 17, 2015. (Mini-workshop)
University of Virginia. March 9, 2009; October 22, 2009; October 15, 2015.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. December 16, 2014.
University of Maine. November 20, 2014.
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. October 31, 2014. (Mini-workshop)
Emory University/Laney Graduate School. January 27, 2014. (Mini-workshop)
Louisiana Tech University. October 10, 2013.
Johns Hopkins University. January 12, 2012. (Mini-workshop)
Reykjavik University. September 8, 2011. (Mini-workshop)

Relevant Publications

Breaking Bias
In 2015, Devine partnered with Molly Carnes, the director of the UW’s Center for Women’s Health Research, to examine, and potentially reduce, gender bias in departmental units covering all fields of science, engineering, and medicine …
Devine et al. 2017 paper included in Gender Action Portal
The Gender Action Portal at Harvard University has selected the Devine et al. 2017 paper “A gender bias habit-breaking intervention led to increased hiring of female faculty in STEMM departments” in their database. The Women …
Carnes et al. 2015 paper included in Gender Action Portal
The Gender Action Portal at Harvard University has selected the Carnes et al. 2015 paper “The Effect of an Intervention to Break the Gender Bias Habit for Faculty at One Institution: A Cluster Randomized, Controlled …
A Gender Bias Habit-Breaking Intervention Led to Increased Hiring of Female Faculty in STEMM Departments
Devine, Patricia G.; Patrick S. Forscher; William T. L. Cox; Anna Kaatz; Jennifer Sheridan; and Molly Carnes. 2017. “A Gender Bias Habit-Breaking Intervention Led to Increased Hiring of Female Faculty in STEMM Departments.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 73(Nov): 211-215.
Difficult Dialogues: Faculty Responses to a Gender Bias Literacy Training Program
Isaac, Carol; Linda Baier Manwell; Patricia G. Devine; Cecilia Ford; Jennifer T. Sheridan; and Molly Carnes. 2016. “Difficult Dialogues: Faculty Responses to a Gender Bias Literacy Training Program.” The Qualitative Report. 21(7):1243-1265.
Effect of an Intervention to Break the Gender Bias Habit: A Cluster Randomized, Controlled Trial
Carnes, Molly; Patricia G. Devine; Linda Baier Manwell; Angela Byars-Winston; Eve Fine; Cecilia E. Ford; Patrick Forscher; Carol Isaac; Anna Kaatz; Wairimu Magua; Mari Palta; and Jennifer Sheridan. 2015. “Effect of an Intervention to Break the Gender Bias Habit: A Cluster Randomized, Controlled Trial.” Academic Medicine. 90(2): 221-230.
Promoting Institutional Change Through Bias Literacy
Carnes, Molly; Patricia Devine; Carol Isaac; Linda Baier Manwell; Cecilia Ford; Angela Byars-Winston; Eve Fine; David Burke; and Jennifer Sheridan. 2012. “Promoting Institutional Change Through Bias Literacy.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. 5(2): 63-77. PMID: 22822416. PMCID: PMC3399596.
Diversity in Academic Medicine: The Stages of Change Model
Carnes, Molly; Jo Handelsman; and Jennifer Sheridan. 2005. “Diversity in Academic Medicine: The Stages of Change Model.” Journal of Women’s Health. 14(6):471-475.
The Individually-Targeted Habit-Breaking Intervention and Group-Level Change
Forscher, Patrick. (2015). “The Individually-Targeted Habit-Breaking Intervention and Group-Level Change.” Doctoral Dissertation: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Deeply entrenched gender bias in academic medicine is treatable
“Deeply entrenched gender bias in academic medicine is treatable.” February 27, 2018. Ted Bosworth. Clinical Psychiatry News.
New Initiatives Offer Jobs, Funding to Women Only
“New Initiatives Offer Jobs, Funding to Women Only.” Ashley Yeager. The Scientist. January 5, 2018.
Yes, You Have Implicit Biases, Too
“Yes, You Have Implicit Biases, Too.” David Gooblar. The Chronicle of Higher Education. November 19, 2017.
These female engineers increased their job offers by 47% in only 2 hours
“These female engineers increased their job offers by 47% in only 2 hours.” Heidi Moore. Ladders. July 20, 2017.
Could a Two-Hour Workshop Help Get More Women Hired in STEM
“Could a Two-Hour Workshop Help Get More Women Hired in STEM?” Jesse Singal. The Cut. July 12, 2017.
Is this how discrimination ends?
“Is this how discrimination ends?” Jessica Nordell. The Atlantic. May 7, 2017.
Gender bias: how to break the habit (NIH)
"Gender bias: how to break the habit.” Advances & Insights: the NIH Women in Science Newsletter. 9(6): November/December 2016.
Stop Bias and Start Change in STEM
“Stop Bias and Start Change in STEM.” Beth Mitchneck. The Hill/Congress Blog. May 6, 2016.
Feature Articles: The Effect of an Intervention to Break the Gender Bias Habit for Faculty at One Institution: A Cluster Randomized, Controlled Trial
“Feature Articles: The Effect of an Intervention to Break the Gender Bias Habit for Faculty at One Institution: A Cluster Randomized, Controlled Trial.” NIH Updates on Women in Science Newsletter. Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2015.