Critical Race Theory and EEO and Diversity Training

 At the beginning of September, the Office of Budget and Management at the request of President Trump issued M-20-34, which basically states that no federal government training should include critical race theory or any other training that address white privilege or that suggests white people are inherently racist. As someone who provides harassment and EEO training to government agencies, what is my feeling on this? I'm glad you asked.

First, I have no problem with critical race theory. I think it's a REALLY useful lens to understand American History. And I agree with the statement put out by the Deans of the UC Irvine Law School that it is absolutely ridiculous to describe critical race theory as anti-American. https://www.law.uci.edu/news/in-the-news/2020/richardson-uc-law-deans-critical-race-theory.html

But I also am already in compliance with the memo as I don't use critical race theory in my trainings. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/M-20-34.pdf

As I said, I offer EEO Refresher and Settlement Training and just bid on anti-racism training for a government agency. I reviewed the memo and executive order as soon as it came out and I can safely say, it doesn’t impact me or my colleagues who offer similar training at all.

 And again, I think Critical Race theory is a useful theory. I actually agree with it. It's just that, as a training tool, not only do I think it would not be effective, I think it would be counterproductive. It is not something I would introduce or use as a tool or a lens to consider the topic at hand.  Mostly because all it does is raise awareness. It doesn’t help change behavior. 

Just making people aware of a problem doesn’t’ fix the problem.

I have many reasons why I would NOT and do not use it in a training program. Let’s assume I’m doing a training for a group and – the group includes a racist. 

First, everyone in the group knows that person is a racist. It’s not a secret. What they want to learn is, 'how do I stop them from hurting me and my colleagues.' Being told racism is a problem and how exactly it is a problem doesn’t teach people what they need to know. It just tells them what they already know.  It would be better to teach them what they really want to learn, which is, how do I make it stop.

Second: the racist won’t learn anything from the training. There will be no epiphany. They will just feel attacked and self-righteous and probably dig into their behaviors more. Again, this doesn’t fix the problem. 

Third: using critical race theory as the basis of a training contains a flawed assumption. This flaw is not unique to anti-racism training. It’s in harassment training and NO FEAR Act training as well. The long-standing assumption with harassment and No FEAR Act training and discrimination training and civility training is: if we just explain to people that certain behaviors are hurting others they will just stop. Never once in the entire history of humanity has asking an abusive person to stop being abusive worked. Not once. And yet, that's what these trainings usually boil down to. 

(Note: My training is about how to stop unwanted behavior, so if you want to have a training that teaches your staff what they really want to know, contact me.)

The Ban on Critical Race Theory

The only situation I would use critical race theory in a training would be a high-level meeting to discuss strategy on how to fix systemic problems in a workplace and it would be used as a topic to discuss systems adjustments not as a bludgeon to make people feel bad.  I would NEVER use it in the way it is described in the executive order.  IF those examples are true then whoever those trainers are should be banned.  

What was described in the executive order violates the dignity of the individuals in the training. No good training would do that.  

What should be in a training? 

First - All training on harassment, discrimination, retaliation and civility should be based in dignity.  Everyone in every training I have ever given has experienced what Donna Hicks calls dignity violations. Everyone. Including the people who I have been told by the people bringing me in are the ‘problem people.’  Everyone.

Trainings need to help people assert their dignity and learn to do so in a way that does not denigrate the dignity of others.  This means a training should help the 'problem person' be less defensive and own their own dignity so that they can give dignity to others.

Second: In order to help people get unwanted behavior directed at them to stop (which is what people REALLY want to learn) we need to learn what works to ‘fix’ behaviors. This means teaching people behavioral approaches to get unwanted behaviors to stop. Just making people aware of a problem doesn’t’ fix the problem.  Teaching them how to take responsibility for their own behavior so that they can ‘fix’ the behavioral dynamics around them is priceless. People want to learn this and are motivated to learn it and this results in an entire office of people being on their best behaviors to ‘fix’ what they believe to be the bad behaviors of others.  Best of all, this sort of training  helps people claim their dignity and worth and learn how to assert it without harming others in the process. It creates a positive feedback loop.

Rethinking the problem and treating people with dignity. 

Having done this for a long time now, pretty much my entire adult life, I can tell you with some authority that very few people are truly problematic. Most people are good people.  In most offices there are people who make mistakes and these problems are easily fixed if given the right tools.  

In the few cases that can't be fixed it is because the ‘problem person’ has a mental health issue that is impeding their ability to control their behavior. If that is the case, they need and deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion.  The descriptions of what is being banned and why in the EO violates people’s dignity. I will never be ok with any training approach that violates people's dignity.  

What about the racists?

For the people who are in management positions and who are truly racist, and they exist, no training on how to be anti-racist will fix that. You just have to fire them. Or at least not give them any position of power over any person. 

I get called in by companies who want me to ‘fix’ their problem person. I don’t take those jobs.  What they want me to do I can’t do. People have to want to learn what you are teaching them.  Very few racists want to learn to not be racist. Some do get to that point but those people talk about deconversion, like racism is a religion that they have to break away from. A critical race theory training isn’t going to do that. Deconversion is a time intensive process.  

Deconverting a racist is really NOT something an employer should be taking on. Companies just have to decide whether they can minimize the harm a racist is causing by NOT giving this person authority over ANYONE (because they will abuse their authority if given the chance) or if they should fire them. 

My advice: 

When you get someone who holds an extreme ideology that is fundamentally against treating everyone with dignity, if you don’t fire them, then you are culpable for the harm they do. And they will do harm because they won’t treat certain people with dignity.

Conclusion:

To me, the ban on critical race theory as a training tool is valid. As I said right after the ban came out I participated in a joint bid on anti-racism training and none of us were concerned that our bid would be negatively impacted by the order as none of us involved in the bid use critical race theory. In fact the lead on that project was pretty happy the ban was issued, because it gives us an edge. And yes she is a black woman.

 If you are in the government and need a training that complies with this order, contact me and check out my course offerings: https://humanistlearning.com/category/businesscourses/mandated/

Evidence Based Solutions for D&I in the workplace

Anyone involved in HR and Diversity Issues knows - what we are doing isn't really working. We still have bias. We still have discrimination. We still have problems with inclusion. And none of the initiatives seem to make a dent. Some do, it specific cases, but as a problem plaguing society and our workplace, it's pretty sticky.

This is why I want to share the Evidence Based D&I HR Magazine article: https://www.dropbox.com/s/amz5hisptr6d036/Evidence-Based%20D%26I%20HR%20Magazine%20May17.pdf

We need to use more science to help us solve these problems.  One of the ways we try to solve D&I problems is by compiling reports about experiences of black, asian, minority and ethnic people in organizations to ask about their experiences. And these stories are useful to help us understand the impact of the dynamics and experiences that people are having in an organization.

What this doesn't do is help us come up with solutions to fix them. It is simply not enough to tell stories to try and get people to care. There are other sciences we can bring in to help us. Like, behavioral science, or sociology or psychology.

Another thing that won't work is "solutioneering" which I refer to as proxy problems. Where people decide that the problem is we have not instituted a particular solution. When that might not be the problem at all.

One of these "solutions" is unconscious bias training. But the evidence is that this training doesn't actually change behavior. (http://humanisthappiness.blogspot.com/2018/11/does-unconscious-bias-training-work.html) There are several reasons why that is the case - one of which is what I teach - the science behind how behaviors are actually changed. https://humanistlearning.com/change1/

The advice they give is please don't just act so you can be seen to be doing something. Do something that will actually work. This requires decision makes to be conscientious, explicit and judicious in seeking out and using evidence to design your intervention. 

FYI - I will be interviewing Rob Briner (one of the co-authors) regarding using evidence based management practice. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/evidence-based-practice-to-make-better-decisions-humanistic-professionals-lunch-and-learn-tickets-53964850320

And if you want to learn some of the science on how to actually get behaviors to change - contact me for a training. https://humanistlearning.com/contact-us/

Does Unconscious Bias Training Work?

Will this solution work?  This is the most important question you can ever ask.

One of the benefits of taking a science based approach to harassment training is that you not only can more effectively stop harassment and bullying, you can also improve your team diversity.  Harassment and discrimination suppress diversity. It's part of the mix of why creating diverse yet cohesive work teams is so difficult. 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission published a report on the effectiveness of unconscious bias training - looking at the actual evidence on whether they work or not. https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/research-report-113-unconcious-bais-training-an-assessment-of-the-evidence-for-effectiveness-pdf.pdf

It's worth reading but here are the highlights of the findings. Training can improve awareness of unconscious bias. But, if you want behavioral change – you need to have a behavioral training and finally – there is no difference in learning between online and face to face learning outcomes on this topic.

Regarding whether it was mandatory or voluntary. Mandatory training is more likely to lead to behavioral change AND – team trainings are effective because they help the team self reinforce the learning.

One of the reasons I feel ok offering online training, is because it's as effective as face to face training in this area.  See: Box 8. Comparing methods of delivery of UBT

(This study was rated at MSSM Level 3, ‘moderately rigorous’)
Google (2013) conducted an experiment in the US to evaluate whether their UBT
workshop met the training’s aims of increased awareness and understanding of
unconscious bias and motivation to overcome it. Participants were randomly
allocated to one of three groups: participation in a live workshop, online self-study
video of the workshop, or no UBT (control group). A self-report survey was used to
measure participants’ awareness and understanding of unconscious bias and
motivation to overcome it. Participants’ awareness and understanding of
unconscious bias and motivation to overcome it were significantly higher post-test
compared with pre-test in both online and face-to-face groups, compared with the
control group. Results persisted one month after the workshop. Notably, face-toface
training did not yield stronger effects than online training.

Bias reduction strategies are scientific, evidence based methods for decreasing levels of implicit bias (for example, challenging participants’ unconscious negative thinking by presenting positive counter stereotypic images). In their rapid evidence assessment Cornish and Jones (2013)

identify a range of bias reduction strategies from the scientific research:

● Discounting commonly held stereotypes using positive and counter

stereotypic images.

● Changing how an outgroup member is evaluated and categorised through the

use of evaluative conditioning.

- Here, participants are exposed to repeated pairing of images of

outgroup members with positive images but in a way that disguises the

purpose of the activity from participants.

● Increasing contact between different groups to change the level of threat

evoked in the presence of an outgroup member.

● Encouraging people to take responsibility for their implicit biases by using

cognitive strategies such as implementation intentions (if-then action plans)

and appropriate attributions for outgroup behaviour.

● Encouraging participants to choose valuing diversity freely rather than through

fear of external sanction, or choosing a multicultural, rather than a colourblind,

approach to diversity.

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If you are looking for an online unconcious bias training - I offer one and it can  be bundled with other training programs to help staff not just become aware of their biases, but help them develop positive strategies and skills for dealing with differences so that they can overcome their biases.

https://humanistlearning.com/controlling-our-unconscious-bias/