Knowledge gains in a professional development workshop on diversity, equity, inclusion, and implicit bias in academia

Abstract

As literature indicates, historic racism and implicit bias throughout academia have been profound metrics leading to a lack of diversity, as related to people from underrepresented groups according to race and ethnicity, among biomedical sciences graduate students in U.S. universities. Recognizing such challenges, a team of biomedical scientists and inclusivity educators developed and implemented a pilot training program within an academic health sciences center as an initial step to educate faculty and staff regarding their roles in the promotion of an inclusive academic environment, receptive to all students, including underrepresented students. The 3-h workshop included didactic modules, videos, teaching modules, and active attendee participation. Faculty and staff were presented common terminology and ways to promote the development of an inclusive and diverse academic workforce. Compared with pre-workshop, post-workshop survey results indicated a statistically significant improvement in attendee knowledge of correctly identifying definitions of “implicit bias,” “status leveling,” “color-blind racial attitudes,” “tokenism,” and “failure to differentiate.” Additionally, by the end of the workshop, participants had a statistically significant increase in self-perceptions regarding the importance of improving diversity and recognizing biases and stereotypes in graduate education, knowing what to say when interacting with people from different cultures, and the ability to acknowledge bias when mentoring students from groups underrepresented in the biomedical field. This preliminary initiative was successful in the introduction of faculty and staff to the importance of fostering an inclusive academic environment and thereby developing a diverse workforce.

Equity/Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Universities: The Case of Disabled People

“…All of these points can and should be applied to disabled academics. The following identified problems and actions that are needed in relation to race and gender are also applicable to disabled students and disabled academics: representation in textbooks [56] (for literature on this related to disabled people, see [166][167][168][169][170], address leaky pipeline (such as go to junior and senior high schools to entice disabled students), go beyond academia, make women visible [51] (make disabled people visible), move towards highcontext approaches to learning [52], institutional culture changes in academia [53], fighting implicit biases and microaggressions [54] (by changing existing modules on harassment and bullying that often leave out disabled people, increase intersectionality and moving away from the "superwomen" [57] (p. 1779) (see the many similar discussions around the supercrip [79,[171][172][173][174]), and the ability to identify correctly and deal with "implicit bias", "status leveling", "tokenism", and "failure to differentiate" [58].…”

“…Other problems that were identified and solutions proposed were: address leaky pipeline, go beyond academia, make women visible [51], move toward high-context approaches to learning [52], institutional culture changes in academia [53], fight implicit biases and microaggressions [54,55], become literate, acknowledge ones privilege, speak out as a privileged one [55], change problematic representation in textbooks [56], increased research in EDI because the existing gender equity initiatives do not lead to intended levels of career advancements in the field [57], and increased intersectionality and moving away from the "superwomen" [57] (p. 1779). Problems also include the ability to identify correctly and deal with "implicit bias", "status leveling", "color-blind racial attitudes", "tokenism", and "failure to differentiate" [58] (p. 286), and developing career development programs as a possible solution [59]. In one article it was noted: "the level of inclusion that racially minoritized academics in our study felt within their workplaces depended upon their experiences with (1) acceptance (e.g., through hiring, promotion, and tenure);…”

Ten simple rules for supporting historically underrepresented students in science

“…Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) workshops and seminars are increasingly being instated by academic institutions with the objective of holding leaders accountable for advancing diversity [ 107 , 108 ]. These learning opportunities have been shown to cultivate more inclusive academic environments and contribute to the development of a more diverse workforce [ 109 ]. Educators are encouraged to seize these opportunities for development, solicit them from their institution if they are lacking, and engage with peers to normalize the exchange of ideas surrounding inclusivity.…”

Perspectives Against Racism: educational and socialization efforts at the departmental level

“…However, this is not always public knowledge or reflected by diversity of student, staff, and faculty groups. The institution has supported faculty development by implementing training programs to increase knowledge of unconscious bias and promote awareness of implicit biases (5). Workshops including Creating an Equitable and Inclusive Environment by Tsien, Hollenbach, and Augustus-Wallace and Implicit Bias by Harrison-Bernard, as well as opportunities to participate in the Race and Equity-Campaign for Equity-New Orleans have provided LSUHSC-NO faculty and staff opportunities to support racial equity (6).…”