Workshops to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
WISELI is not delivering this workshop at this time. Check back in Fall 2024 for updates.
These workshops introduce faculty and staff 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,” with a focus on race, ethnicity, and gender. 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. One workshop is aimed at general academic audiences, and the other is tailored specifically to academic medicine (BRIM).
Both workshops are based upon our previous workshop which was the first randomized-controlled study of an intervention that aimed to reduce the expression of bias in academic settings. Departments that participated in the workshop showed improvements in department climate and increased diversity in hiring.
Workshop Details
Breaking the Bias Habit®: A Workshop to Promote a Diverse, Welcoming, and Inclusive Campus
This workshop, a 3-hour interactive session conducted in-person, presents research on how implicit bias operates in academic settings and provides evidence-based strategies for minimizing bias. It covers the following topics:
- Understanding implicit bias
- Implicit bias in evaluation processes
- Implicit bias in teaching
- Implicit bias in interactions/microaggressions
Breaking the Bias Habit®: Bias Reduction in Medicine (BRIM)
This workshop, a 3-hour interactive session conducted in-person, covers the following topics:
- Implicit bias as a habit
- Becoming bias literate – key bias concepts and how they operate in academic medicine
- Evidence-based strategies to break the bias habit
Request a Workshop
WISELI is available to conduct a Breaking the Bias Habit® workshop to your department or unit of 25 attendees or more. Departments/units can and often do incorporate this workshop as part of a “retreat.”
There is no charge or fee for UW–Madison departments or units, but we do ask the following:
- The department chair or unit head officially supports hosting the workshop and encourages participation
- The department or unit reserves a room for the workshop and provides light refreshments to attendees
Relevant Publications
Effect of a Workshop to Break the Bias Habit for Internal Medicine Faculty: A Multisite Cluster Randomized Controlled Study
Carnes, Molly; Jennifer Sheridan; Eve Fine; You-Geon Lee; and Amarette Filut. 2023. “Effect of a Workshop to Break the Bias Habit for Internal Medicine Faculty: A Multisite Cluster Randomized Controlled Study.” Academic Medicine. Preprint: https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Abstract/9900/Effect_of_a_Workshop_to_Break_the_Bias_Habit_for.456.aspx …
Improving Department Climate Through Bias Literacy: One College’s Experience
Sheridan, Jennifer; Eve Fine; Manuela Romero; Carmen Juniper Neimeko; Molly Carnes; Christine Bell; You-Geon Lee; and Casey Stockstill. 2021. Improving Department Climate Through Bias Literacy: One College’s Experience.” Journal of Women and Minorities in Science …
Engaging Faculty in a Workshop Intervention on Overcoming the Influence of Implicit Bias
Carnes, Molly; Jennifer Sheridan; Eve Fine; You-Geon Lee; Amarette Filut; and Sharon Topp. 2021. “Engaging Faculty in a Workshop Intervention on Overcoming the Influence of Implicit Bias.” Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 5(1), e135.
Teaching Academics About Microaggressions: A Workshop Model Adaptable to Various Audiences
Fine, Eve; Jennifer Sheridan; Christine Fabian Bell; Molly Carnes; Carmen Juniper Neimeko; and Manuela Romero. 2018. “Teaching Academics About Microaggressions: A Workshop Model Adaptable to Various Audiences.” Understanding Interventions Journal. In press.
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.
- More relevant publications
Media Coverage
Innovative Ideas Fight Bias in Medicine
Dr. Karen Freund brought the novel anti-bias training called “Bias Reduction in Internal Medicine (BRIM)” to all divisions of the Tufts MC Department of Medicine, and envisions extending that training to all School of Medicine …
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 …
How training doctors in implicit bias could save the lives of black mothers
“How training doctors in implicit bias could save the lives of black mothers.” Elizabeth Chuck. May 11, 2018. NBC News.
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.
- More media coverage