11/04/2015
Just released to the public this week--here is a project we have been working on a lot of this past year, Microsoft's new Unconscious Bias training!
Biases so heavily influence people's view of the world that they become a lens that people aren't even aware that they have. Even incredibly well-meaning people tend to walk around with a certain number of presumptions and associations that can keep them from seeing the world accurately and interacting with others justly and with clarity.
When you become more aware of your own biases and make a habit of examining your assumptions, then you can take actions to behave more inclusively and actually become more of the fair and balanced person you intend to be.
One thing I love about working with big corporate clients is the tremendous reach and impact they can have when they do something right. This past year, 70,000 Microsoft employees have taken this course. I know it takes a lot more than one course, but I feel great about being able to spread awareness about bias and how to counteract it.
The Microsoft Diversity & Inclusion team provided the key inputs for the course in terms of what messages they wanted to get across and what scenarios they wanted to portray. Golden Interactive Media wrote the course, planned interactivity and graphic design, built the functional course, and managed integration of the seven language versions.
Some important collaborators included the fabulous Von Piglet Productions in Seattle who scripted and produced the video scenarios, and Voice One in San Francisco who recorded the narrator voiceover.
We are very proud to help bring this course into to the world!
We’re open to learning our own biases and changing our behaviors so we can tap into the collective power of everyone at Microsoft. That’s why we’ve developed unconscious bias training for all our employees.
