SFSIAQ17I3002 Unconscious Bias
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The Executive Development Division (EDD) and Leadership Training Division (LTD) of the Leadership and Management School (LMS) and of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) are expanding formal instruction on unconscious bias (UB). In late 2016, LMS incorporated the two-hour module on UB into the two-day PT107 EEO/Diversity Awareness for Managers and Supervisors course. We are now developing the one-day stand-alone course on UB, with an expected launch in early 2018.
LMS is seeking a subject matter expert (SME) with deep knowledge of empirical research about Unconscious Bias (to include inadvertent discrimination, as well as cognitive biases that impact perceptions and decision-making) and practical experience in mitigating it. The SME will inform the development of the one-day UB class and ensure that the content is current, based on research, and frames UB as a leadership issue that impacts organizational effectiveness. The new one-day course will emphasize: 1) the established neurological science underpinning unconscious bias; 2) the variety of such biases, to include confirmation bias, group think, halo effect, and how they impact organizational effectiveness; 3) the impact unconscious bias may have on leadership decision-making, including strategic planning, policy formation, and human resource decisions; and, 4) strategies to mitigate unintended and unconscious bias.
Erin E Williams, Email williamsee3@state.gov
