The BBC has warned employees to watch out for “170 distinct types of unconscious bias,” such as prejudice towards a colleague based on their interests.
The Corporation, which critics accuse of being fixated with a “woke” agenda, has encouraged its staff to “reflect” on whether they are making assumptions at work that can “foment discomfort or prejudice.”
The Mail on Sunday has secured material about the equality and diversity training after a protracted freedom of information dispute with the BBC.
The possibility of unintentionally discriminating against coworkers due to their colour, gender, sexual orientation, or handicap is discussed with staff.
But students are also informed that how they treat a coworker may depend on their relationship and parenting status, as well as that person’s tattoos, physical appearance, educational background, personality type, communication style, and personal interests and pastimes.
According to one training video, your brain analyses millions and millions of bits of information every day. To handle this task, your brain uses extraordinarily quick automatic thinking.
Your prior experiences and personal preferences are used by your mind’s autopilot to make quick selections.
All of this is incredibly effective but may also lead to prejudice and stereotyping.
This is what we refer to as unconscious prejudice, which we must recognise and combat. Staff members are advised to “take a minute and calm down” since they are more likely to exhibit unconscious prejudice while under pressure.
“Make it a habit to allow yourself time for thinking before you deliver a response or make a choice,” the advice continues.
At that point, consider if you are making assumptions about everyone present. Do I have any proof for these assertions, or am I just letting my busy mind wander?
Additionally, throughout the training, actors portray BBC staff who believe they may have been the victims of unconscious prejudice.
‘My boss once handed me a data exercise stating, ‘You’ll be brilliant at this,” a worker recalled. I honestly have never shown any talent with mathematics or Excel, so I can only presume that it is due to my Chinese ancestry.
After the BBC refused to divulge information when requested to do so under the regulations governing freedom of information, The Mail on Sunday filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner.
In response to that complaint, the broadcaster acknowledged that its first reaction had been insufficient and waited five months to reveal the training materials.
The Government Equalities Office-commissioned study found no evidence that unconscious bias education increases workplace equality.
Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, said that BBC executives “didn’t care to study this research before squandering licence fee payers’ money.”
The creation of 170 various sorts of prejudices, according to Frank Furedi, retired professor of sociology at Kent University, “serves as witness to the strength of imagination rather than of science,”
Because individuals are punished for their unconscious ideas rather than their explicit actions, he said, this is a particularly nefarious effort to control and police behaviour.
‘Some of this may seem simple or basic, but it deals with daily situations and practically every big organisation offers similar courses,’ a BBC official said.
We don’t apologise for wanting to be a cutting-edge, diverse organisation.