Day 12: Implicit Bias

DAY 12 Of YWCA Spokane’s 14-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge

We hope this challenge provides you with an opportunity to better understand concepts related to race, power, privilege, and leadership.

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7 | DAY 8 | DAY 9 | DAY 10 | DAY 11 | DAY 12 | DAY 13 | DAY 14

Thank you for taking this challenge! If this is your first day of joining us for the 14-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge, welcome. If you are returning after previous engagement with the challenge, nice work! We are glad you are here. Each weekday from Tuesday, June 8th through Friday, June 25th, YWCA Spokane will send those who sign up for our challenge emails prompting you to make time to learn about racial equity and social justice.

We encourage everyone to talk about what you are learning with friends, share on social media with #ywcaequitychallenge, and take time to reflect on your personal insights after each challenge using this reflection log. Consider joining our Racial & Social Justice Facebook Group to continue the conversation online and connect with others.

DAY 12: implicit bias

The term “implicit bias” describes when we have attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge. Residing deep in the subconscious, these implicit biases can be both positive and negative, and can be activated without you even knowing it. They operate unconsciously and differ from known biases that people may intentionally hide.

A growing number of studies show a link between hidden biases and actual behavior. In other words, implicit bias can reveal itself in action, especially when a person’s efforts to control behavior consciously fail under stress, distraction, relaxation, or competition.

Everyone has some form of implicit bias, but knowledge is empowering. It is critical that we recognize, stay aware of, and learn to correct for the biases we carry. Having biases doesn’t make you a bad person — it only makes you human.

If you have…

5 Minutes	and	10 Minutes	and	1 hour
	and		and
Click on module 1, lesson 3 to watch this video that unpacks how implicit bias develops. (If you have more time, check out the other modules!)	and	Take one of these tests on hidden bias to uncover your implicit associations about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other topics.	and	Listen to this podcast from NPR that examines research on “studying the invisible:” prejudices so deeply buried, we often doubt their existence.

daily Reflection

Once you have completed today’s challenge, take a moment to reflect on any insights you experienced. How did the challenge make you feel? What is something you learned? Did you notice anything about yourself after taking the challenge? Consider sharing this new awareness with a friend or group to help deepen your understanding of the information. Consider tracking your reflections on the below daily log or joining our online Facebook group to encourage daily sharing with each other about the challenge topics.

Challenge Reflection Log

Share each challenge online with #YWCAEquityChallenge

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7 | DAY 8 | DAY 9 | DAY 10 | DAY 11 | DAY 12 | DAY 13 | DAY 14

Do you have resources you think we should share? Any insights you would like to share with us? We welcome you to leave your comments here. Thank you!