Bias by a Thousand Cuts: A True Story

1. Understand what implicit bias or second-generation discrimination in the workplace looks like. It’s not only inappropriate touching or racially charged language. It’s the death of a thousand cuts, and the odds are, you have colleagues of color and/or female colleagues who are experiencing the effects of it.

2. Support your friends and colleagues. If you hear hate or inappropriate speech, say something.

3. Learn to recognize your own biases. If you find yourself admiring your male boss who roars, but not the female leader who roars, ask why. Emotion is emotion. Why is women's tied to hormones and men's to courage?

4. Ask yourself what you can risk to support others. This is a small, tight field. Becoming a leader is a tricky business. If you're the person known for saying the emperor has no clothes, will you ever get promoted? Are you counting on someone else to be that person?

5. Find resources and participate through Gender Equity in Museum's Movement (GEMM); Museum Hue, Incluseum; AAM, AASLH, AIC, and other national, regional, and state professional associations.Joan Baldwin