Women in Computer Science • Responding to Everyday Bias: How to Recognize it and Interrupt it

Monday, April 26, 2021 12:00 pm - 12:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Everyone is welcome to attend this free online event.

We have all been in conversations where a friend, colleague or boss makes an off-handed or stereotypical comment. Such comments can be hurtful and make for a non-inclusive learning or working environment. We might let the comment slide because we want to move on and don’t want to make the speaker defensive. However, by not speaking up, we silently convey that such comments are OK with us and we help to normalize them.

This workshop offers a collection of strategies to respond effectively to biased comments, in ways that are proportional to the severity of the comment. The workshop is interactive: part of the time will be spent in small groups (i.e., breakout rooms) in which participants play “a game” and practice applying strategies and responses to concrete scenarios.