LGBTQIA+ Inclusion: How “Woke” Are You? Identify Your Blind Spots and Create a Better Work Culture

Description

Unconscious bias (or implicit bias) is often defined as prejudice or unsupported judgments in favor of or against one thing, person or group as compared to another, in a way that is usually considered unfair. These biases may be held by an individual, group or institution and can have negative or positive consequences. It is important to note that biases, either conscious or unconscious, aren’t limited to ethnicity and race.

We are all aware that racial bias and discrimination are very well documented, however, biases also extend toward and from many other social groups. An individual’s gender, age, gender identity, physical abilities, gender expression, weight, religion, sexual orientation, and many other characteristics are also subject to bias.

This session is intended to challenge your sense of bias as it relates to the LGBTQIA+ community. Even the most liberal and open-minded person will be challenged by this presentation. We as individuals and a society still have a long way to go toward full acceptance and inclusion, so recognizing our own blind spots related to our own LGBTQIA+ biases is an important step toward this goal.

According to Witeck Communications, the combined buying power of the U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adult population for 2015 has been estimated at $917 billion. The 2015 estimate reflects roughly 6–7% of the adult U.S. population (or 16 million-plus adults, 18 years of age and older) as willing to self-identify as LGBT. Getting LGBTQIA+ inclusion right could help open your business or organization to this $900 billion-plus marketplace but getting it wrong could turn roughly 16 million consumers and their family and friends against you. Learn how to get it right!

Learning Outcomes

1. Realize everyone has implicit/unconscious bias relating to the LGBTQIA+ community
2. Identify your own LGBTQIA+ bias/blind spots; develop a conscious awareness
3. Develop skills necessary to overcome bias and combat its impact