The bias quadrant

diagram your bias

One of ASU’s employee training videos tells us about the “bias quadrant” (shown below). This diagram tells us there is both conscious and unconscious bias. That means even if you examine yourself and say, “I’m not biased,” you still are because it is unconscious. The diagram also shows that bias can be individual or systemic. That means if you examine yourself and say, “I’m not biased,” it isn’t helpful because you live in and therefore support a biased system. If you object and say you don’t have bias, that’s ok bc your bias is unconscious. The more you object, the more guilty you are. If you ask for evidence from your actions, you’re even more guilty. Have you ever read Solzhenitsyn about the Soviets? Or about the French Revolution?

This diagram comes from Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, bias, and identity. This theory is presented to the employee without any alternatives, critical questions, or debate. It is presented as the “fact of the matter.” And then, it is reinforced with a T/F question with an answer that implies the employee must agree with Crenshaw.

Parents, what do you think Crenshaw, and ASU’s DEIB office, put in the center of this diagram?