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Terms: Implicit Bias, Intersectionality, Indigenous, Islamaphobia
Implicit Bias
Phonetic Pronunciation: im-plis-it bahy-uhs
Definition:
Implicit bias is the unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that automatically affect our understanding, actions, and judgments toward other people.
History:
While the concept of automatic processing was studied in the 70’s by many psychologists, the term “Implicit Bias” with regards to social groups, was coined by Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji in 1995.
Usage:
Implicit bias is an unintentional assumption or judgement of a specific group. This automatic bias can lead to discriminatory decisions. It's important to note that implicit biases can be different from your conscious beliefs.
Examples:
A situational example: Imagine John, who explicitly believes that women and men are equal. Despite his belief, John might implicitly associate women with submissiveness and incapability. Implicit bias might lead him to hire or promote equally qualified men over women.
A sentence example: "Jane assuming that John’s friend was straight shows her implicit bias that being straight is the “default” or that it’s obvious when someone is queer."
Perspectives:
The common interpretation of Implicit bias is that it’s an unconscious negative attitude against a specific social group.
There are different types of implicit bias. Some examples include:
Similarity bias: The tendency to be more comfortable with people who are more like yourself whether that’s race, age, gender, or personality. E.g.: a hiring manager may choose to hire someone with a more familiar-sounding name than those from other cultural groups.
Conformity bias: When you ignore or downplay your individual beliefs and instead act the way the rest of the group does. E.g.: If the majority of the group decides on one option, you may feel it’s easier to go along with their decision.
Confirmation bias: When you make an assumption about someone and then look for evidence to confirm that assumption. E.g: If you believe your partner is messy, you will disproportionately notice all the times they leave a mess, and ignore or forget the times they clean the house.
Did You Know?
You can unlearn implicit biases! You learned implicit biases so you can unlearn them - though it will be difficult. Here are three things required for unlearning implicit bias:
1. Acknowledge and accept the existence of implicit bias, its manifestations, and its impact.
2. Assume individual responsibility to address implicit bias.
3. Engage in continuous self-reflection and self-assessment.
Sources:
(1) Implicit Bias (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Spring 2015 Edition)
(2) Examples of Implicit Bias in the Workplace
(3) Six Interventions to Tackle Unconscious or Implicit Bias
Resources:
Racism: How to challenge your own biases - United Way Greater Toronto
Implicit Bias | Concepts Unwrapped
Intersectionality
Phonetic Pronunciation: In-ter-sek-shuh-NAL-uh-tee
Definition:
"Intersectionality is a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage sometimes compound themselves and create obstacles that often are not understood among conventional ways of thinking."
History:
The term intersectionality was coined in 1989 by legal scholar and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor of law at Columbia University and UCLA (United States). She introduced the concept in an academic article entitled: "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex". However, the roots of intersectionality go deeper than 1989.
Current Usage:
Here are four topics where intersectionality brings clarity:
Workplace discrimination
The gender pay gap
Discrimination against people experiencing homelessness
Health and health care
Examples:
A situational example: "Workplace discrimination" - In fact, the theory of intersectionality came out of a specific workplace discrimination case.
A sentence example: "The five auto workers were told to choose between being Black or being women, while in reality, their experiences were shaped by both identities".
Perspectives:
In 1989, legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to define the exclusion faced by Black women. In 1990, academic Patricia Hill Collins introduced the theory of “the matrix of domination” in her book Black Feminist Thought. The matrix describes how social classifications like ethnicity, gender, age, and even religion are interconnected. Thanks to this matrix, people can experience oppression in a variety of ways related to their classifications. Intersectionality and the matrix of domination are closely connected.
One common misconception about intersectionality is that it defines someone’s value. Some think it means that multiple marginalized identities make a person more moral, credible, and important than those who don’t have as many. Intersectionality starts to feel like a competition where people argue about which identities are more oppressed and therefore superior. This is a grave misunderstanding of intersectionality. The theory is centered on discrimination and oppression by the state. It’s not making any claims about an individual’s or even a group’s worth, credibility, or morality. Rather, it’s a framework focused on how power and discrimination work when someone has intersecting identities. The person is not inherently better or more important; their identities simply affect their access to opportunities.
Did You Know?
The Oxford English Dictionary added the word in 2015, and Merriam-Webster published a definition two years later. The term skyrocketed in popularity, in part due to the philosophy espoused by Women's March organizers responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration.
Sources:
Intersectionality (Cambridge Dictionary)
The YouTube Channel "The urgency of intersectionality, Kimberlé Crenshaw, TED"
Intersectionality 101: Definition, Facts and Examples
Resources:
Indigenous
Definition:
Indigenous peoples refer to the original inhabitants of a specific territory, who have distinct cultural, social, and political identities rooted in their ancestral lands. From a critical decolonial perspective, this definition recognizes the Indigenous peoples' deep connection to the land, their resilience in the face of colonization, and the ongoing struggles for self-governance, cultural revitalization, and justice. It emphasizes challenging colonial structures, addressing power imbalances, and working towards reconciliation and Indigenous rights.
Indigenous comes from the Latin word indigena, which means “sprung from the land; native.” And Indigenous Peoples recognize that, rather than a single group of people, there are many separate and unique Nations (Ward, 2017).
Wherever possible, though, you should use the specific names of the Nations and communities, especially if you are acknowledging territory and identity. (Idigenization Foundations)
“Turtle Island might sound like some far away island in the sea, but it's actually what some Indigenous people call the continent of North America, while others, such as the Ojibwa, use it to refer to the whole world. “ CBC Kids
Some Nations believe that the Creator of all things flooded the Earth because the people couldn’t get along and were fighting. In one version, only the animals and Nanabush (or Nanabozho), a spirit that appears in many Ojibwa (say “oh-JIB-wah”) legends, survived. He has an Anishinaabe (say "uh-NISH-ih-NAH-bay") mother and a spirit father, so he is half spirit and half human.” CBC Kids
“Following Christopher Columbus' arrival in North America [Turtle Island] in 1492, violence and disease killed 90% of the indigenous population — nearly 55 million people — according to a study published this year. A little over a century later, that number had dropped close to 6 million. “ Insider Magazine
Examples:
“Indigenous Peoples - A collective noun for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis It can be used interchangeably with First Peoples, First Nations, and Aboriginal Peoples.” - Indigenous Corporate Training.
“Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced.” World Bank
Sources:
Aboriginal or Indigenous? – Pulling Together: Foundations Guide
Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. 2016
World Bank Indigenous Peoples, 2022
Turtle Island — where’s that? | Articles | CBC Kids 2017
Resources:
Newcomer Guide to Indigenous Culture
Islamophobia
Definition:
“Islamophobia is the most used term to describe prejudice, negative sentiments, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia can be based on ideas about Islam as a religion and on ideas about Muslims as a cultural and ethnic group. Islamophobic ideas portray Islam and Muslims as an existential threat to non-Muslims.” Centre for Research on Extremism
Sources:
What is Islamophobia? - C-REX - Center for Research on Extremism 2020
Resources:
A look at Islamophobia in Canada, 3 years after the Quebec mosque shooting | Globalnews.ca