Who Do You Picture?

Take out a piece of paper and number it to 15.

As you read each job title below, who's the first person that pops into mind?

Interior Designer
Technical writer
Senior mechanical engineer
Piping Designer
Receptionist
Project engineer
Engagement manager
CAD Designer
Accounting assistant
Rail engineer
Software developer
Administrative Assistant
Traffic Engineer/Designer
Scheduler
Procurement Manager

Mark all the men that you pictured.
Mark all the white people you pictured.

This afternoon, I will be facilitating this activity with a group of readers and leaders as we explore the book  The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias by Pamela Fuller.

This job list comes directly from their listings on their website.

Under each job description, it says:

At _________, we are building a diverse, inclusive workplace that fosters innovation. If you're interested in this role, we encourage you to apply even if your past experiences don't perfectly align with the skills we've listed.

Today we'll explore if and how their initial pictures and biases might be getting in the way of this intention.

Did you do the exercise? What did you notice?

P.S. For a lot of these jobs, I picture white men, which goes to show that I have my own biases.

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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