The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds by Jessica Nordell
| The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds by Jessica Nordell | |
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| Category: Politics and Society | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A starting point for considering how life is biased against the disabled, the black man and the white woman. Eye-opening, fascinating and frightening in equal measures. A fascinating and highly recommended read. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: September 2021 |
| Publisher: Granta Publications | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1846276774 | |
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Anyone who is not an able, white man understands bias in that they may no longer even recognise the extent to which they suffer from it: it's simply a part of everyday life. White men will always come first. The able will come before the disabled. Jobs, promotions, higher salaries are the preserve of the white man. Even when those who wouldn't pass the medical become a part of an organisation it's rare that their views are heard, that their concerns are acknowledged. It's personally appalling and degrading for the individuals on the receiving end of the bias but it's not just the individuals who are negatively impacted.
If talent - in all its forms - is not being utilised there's an impact on the success of companies and on culture, on life in general - we are wasting a valuable asset. You might argue that there are laws to prevent discrimination but laws create a floor: people determine the ceiling. Laws simply limit how bad discrimination can be. Most worryingly of all, some of the bias actually comes from the people who suffer bias. It's unconscious - say in the difference between how a teacher might comfort a young girl or boy or which gender they might suggest should behave a little more quietly. We might suggest that a girl's clothing is pretty - but we'd never say that to a boy. Not quite so unconscious are the punishments meted out to black students which wouldn't be given to their white counterparts for the same infractions. Women are considered aggressive, whereas their male counterparts are forceful or determined.
Jessica Nordell opens the book by telling us about Ben Barres. Now, Ben had been born Barbara Barres and had transitioned recently but was worried by how he would be accepted at a conference where he was presenting some of his work. He needn't have worried. On the day, he felt he had more authority, that what he said was accepted more readily. Finally, he overheard someone say that his work was better than his sister's.
The book primarily deals with the effect of bias on the black man and the white woman. I was left sickened by the thought of what the black woman must suffer. A little disappointingly, it considers the effects of disadvantage but not the consequences of unearned advantage. It is also based on populations in the USA and occasionally this meant that it was difficult for someone resident outside the US to relate to the precise circumstances. The UK doesn't have such a high proportion of Hispanic residents - but bias is bias, where ever you find it and this is an excellent starting point to correct the situation. Any criticisms I make are very minor and possibly quite picky. It's a stunning book and a surprisingly easy read for such a major subject and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
You'll find yourself shelving this book next to We Need to Talk About Money by Otegha Uwagba or Black, White, and Gray All Over: A Black Man's Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement by Frederick Reynolds.
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