Breaking The Bias

Last month was Women's History Month. Celebrated globally and sprinkled with mothers' day and other dates of note it's a space of big reflection on society and how we exist as women or alongside women.

This year's theme was "break the bias"

You see, breaking the bias is a violent act. It's not crumbling the bias or sanding down the bias. Ut denotes a shattering that will make folks uncomfortable. A shattering that can't necessarily be put back together, like when you drop the crystal tumbler. Shards everywhere, the loud crash making it hard to deny it happened, the response of everyone around that part shock, part sympathy and part what-do-we-do-now-where's-your-broom.

Uncomfortable. Whether it is the sharp sound of hearing it or being the person doing the breaking it so often we are vilified for creating necessary change.

In many ways, bias is like the trinket that has always been on the living room ledge. You get used to it and it's ambient because of your privilege, it's only when it's missing or moved that you realise the opportunity to do something different with the ledge.

• When the newlyweds don't want to have children
• When the wealthy young professional who prefers to rent instead of buy
• When the dog has a pram/buggy
• When the engineer doesn't want to return to the office

Of all the above examples, many of them will have gone over your head until you hear them from a friend or relative. That's privilege. When something isn't a problem because it isn't a problem to you personally.

It's a default oversight we exist with and that oversight makes it harder to break the bias. You can't break what you can just-about see. If...

• You're a newlywed that can and wants to have children; it's hard to think of those who don't want to or can't
• You're a less-wealthy young professional with a life-long dream of buying a property, you won't understand the choice of your peer
• If you're more of a cat-person you're less likely to lobby for dog welfare
• When you can't wait to return to the office and love love love all of it, it's hard to empathise with those who are against it

This is not about pitting one decision against another, this is about us reaching a space where difference is visible, acknowledged and appreciated and that there are so many different options that you couldn't call out the norms, the dominant groups and the un-spoken judgements or assumptions that are applied to the rest.

Breaking the bias is about getting to the core of those prejudices. Challenge yourself to squint hard to see past your privilege.

So, I ask you...

• Think of a bias you hold, what's at the core of that?
• How can you break it?