Why the Battle against your Biases could be a Necessary Daily Practice
I have a bias against women in the workplace that I discovered over thirty years ago. It was revealed to me by a female Aero-engine technician while we were both carrying out daily inspections on a CF-18 fighter aircraft in Baden-Baden.
She had asked me which wing fuel tank fed the number one engine and I replied that they both fed it. Later on she not only showed why I was wrong but where it was in the maintenance manual and explained intuitively why it would be set up that way.
I felt a contraction away from her that was happening in my body but I stayed present with her since her manner was non-threatening and I genuinely liked her company.
The contraction continued for hours and maybe days until I discovered the source of it. She had proven herself to be a better technician than me and it did not fit with what seemed like a deeply held belief that a woman could not hold that position in my mind.
A day or so later I felt a spaciousness in my body and I was able to be with my friend in an authentic way again, this time with a newfound respect. To my relief, I had discovered that the strange belief was likely due to a bias that had formed ten years before.
I had been working as a signal tech in Montreal and we were on exercise putting up a fifty foot sectional antenna in the middle of winter. There were three of us assigned to do the job, me and two female technicians who were both good people that I liked.
We split up the tasks and I was put in charge of separating and locking the segments while they pounded in the stakes that were to hold the antenna erect.
After struggling with the segments for twenty minutes or so I managed to get three segments locked but my hands were beginning to get cold.
I took a break and went to check on my coworkers and found that they had only managed to get one stake halfway into the ground and asked if I could try.
After about five minutes I got one stake firmly in the ground and said that I would finish the stakes if they worked on the segments.
I finished the stakes in another fifteen minutes and went to check on my teammates but found that they were struggling there as well. Even though my hands were completely frozen, I managed to finish the segments and together we erected the antenna just in time for the rest of the squadron to do their radio checks.
Later on that day I was taken to the hospital where the doctor called me an idiot for staying out in the cold that long since I nearly lost both my hands.
I was in excruciating pain for the next two nights as my fingers swelled like sausages while my nails and skin fell off.
After that, my hands were very sensitive to the cold and the bias took hold even though I did not consciously blame my co-workers. I suspect that societal norms were at work here as well even though I have always worked to defy them.
Since I discovered the bias, I have surrounded myself with smart, funny, powerful and capable women whenever I could in order to counter the bias. I had to do this because the bias kept raising its ugly grotesque head in spite of my rational protests.
It is only a tiny thing in the shadows these days and I don't think it has much sway in my behaviour. Still, I am surprised that it can exist at all with the accomplishments of people like Rhonda Roussey and Dana Patrick so prominent in my mind. In addition to this I enjoy the company of many bright capable women who constantly expand my universe for me.
But the thing about biases is that they seem to inhabit a place that is preeminent to our moral codes. They give thought, and even reason at first, a weight in one direction or another. It seems (for me at least) that it is only with practice and the persistent reapplication of reason that these biases can be unseated, if only for a short time.
These days I work hard to make sure I recognize the accomplishments of women simply because I like their energy and want to make sure that the world I live in is treated to the full brilliance of women who may have been held back by societal norms. I do this not to adhere to some elusive moral code but to help ensure that I have my optimal experience in this lifetime.
Because of this, I have been accused of being too supportive of single mothers by both male and female students in my job as an instructor. But at this point it feels necessary in order to even out any influence my bias may have had in the shadows.
But if my shadowy bias can still persist in spite of my conscious efforts, it is not surprising to me that many people walk around each day guided by biases disguised as intuition because of some past trauma that still persists in their body.
The strange thing is that I still discover personal biases to this day and am certain that I will continue to do so in the years to come.
This one was difficult for me to share but I hope it encourages others. If you are reading this, please be gentle in uncovering yours. Be gentle as well in encouraging others who may want to share their own biases and the sources of them no matter how distasteful they may be.
It feels to me that we will need all the help we can get in the battle against this pernicious foe that plagues us all. If we can admit our own biases then it becomes much easier to understand how some people can act in such hurtful and destructive ways.
Maybe then we can discover some common ground that is fertile and firm enough to sustain all of us on our way to founding a better society.
