Centering Justice in Health Professions Education by Owning Limitations of Anti-Bias Checklists
Introduction In this article, researchers Wyatt and Randall argue that anti-bias checklists (checklists for assessing bias in educational content) can identify biased, harmful aspects of educational curricula. However, despite providing these identifications, these assessments fail to create systemic change or improve the experience of Black, Indigenous and students of color inside and outside of the…
Read MoreUnconscious Bias Training: An assessment of the evidence for effectiveness
Introduction Unconscious bias training: An assessment of the evidence for effectiveness by Doyin Atewologun, et al. is a literature review and meta-analysis of studies that examines the evidence for the effectiveness of unconscious bias training programs in actually reducing unconscious bias in individuals and organizations. The authors first define unconscious bias as the automatic and…
Read MoreAntiracist school leadership: making ‘race’ count in leadership preparation and development
Introduction Schools around the world have started to grapple more acutely with racism due to the changing needs of an increasingly racially diverse and integrated student population, as well as in response to urgent calls for educational reform. These calls particularly urge educational reforms that include to developing and growing an antiracist curriculum and trainings.…
Read MoreThe Business Case for Diversity Backfires: Detrimental Effects of Organizations’ Instrumental Diversity Rhetoric for Underrepresented Group Members’ Sense of Belonging
Introduction As organizations become more aware of the importance of diversity as a tool to attract and retain employees, more of them are actively choosing to communicate why they celebrate diversity. Companies frequently express their commitment to diversity by outlining the reasons why diversity is important through their organizational diversity cases. There are two general…
Read MoreApplication of an antiracism lens in the field of implementation science (IS): Recommendations for reframing implementation research with a focus on justice and racial equity
Introduction Over the last several years, the field of implementation science (IS) has become an increasingly popular framework for policymakers to translate evidence-based interventions (EBIs) into routine, real-world practices. IS is most salient in health settings, as it is primarily used with the objective of improving the quality and effectiveness of healthcare services. Despite the…
Read MoreThe ecological and evolutionary consequences of systemic racism in urban environments
Introduction Cities are important ecosystems shaped by dynamic and interdependent biological, physical and social influences. However, Schell et al. note that few studies link research on urban ecological and evolutionary studies to that of social inequality. They argue it is integral to integrate these disciplines as human-created systems of power create uneven impacts on non-human…
Read MoreIncentivized Resume Rating: Eliciting Employer Preferences without Deception
Introduction This study utilizes incentivized resume rating (IRR) to examine employer preferences for candidates graduating from an Ivy League university. The IRR model incentivizes employers to rate hypothetical candidate profiles by matching employers to real job seekers based on their reported preferences. Kessler, Low, and Sullivan find that employers highly value prestigious work experience during…
Read MoreThe Bias of ‘Professionalism’ Standards
Introduction In the midst of widescale evidence of natural-hair discrimination in the workplace and in schools, some states, in 2019, began to outlaw this form of discrimination. There is the story of the Black student who was told to cut his hair or he would not be allowed to graduate, and another of a Black woman who had her…
Read MoreConsequences of attributing discrimination to implicit vs. explicit bias
Introduction As recent as 2015, implicit bias has dominated our national conversation around racism and discrimination. It’s been said, for example, that implicit bias is what led officer Betty Shelby to shoot Terrance Crutcher, an unarmed Black man, in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2016. When less lethal acts of discrimination occur in schools and in the workplace,…
Read MorePointless Diversity Training: Unconscious Bias, New Racism and Agency
Introduction Unconscious bias training is based on the methodology in social psychology that an individual’s response time when presented with 2 images reveals how closely the viewer unconsciously connects the two. By using two sets of images — one of people with different racial/ethic backgrounds and one of negative or positive attributes, prior researchers have…
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