Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 2 

About Your Instructors

Dr. Lester Hoffman & Charles “Skip” Pettit are the 

authors of the book, “Moving Beyond Bias: Bias-Free 

Communication Strategies for Today’s Organization.” 

Each is a renowned workshop leader, keynote speaker, and 

consultant in Diversity & Inclusion, Unconscious Bias, & 

Leadership. Their clients include 30+ federal agencies 

(DOE, FEMA, VA, NOAA, US Navy, FCC, Pentagon, NIH, 

Census Bureau, NIH, etc.), as well as numerous Fortune 

250 organizations, including IBM, AT&T, Pfizer, FedEx, 

Prudential, Lockheed-Martin, Xerox, Bank of America, 

Merck, JP Morgan/Chase, Citigroup, Alcoa, & Mitsubishi. 
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 3

Agenda & Goals For The Session

 Explore impact of Unconscious Bias on 

Mediation/ADR

 Define Unconscious Bias

 Anti-bias tools, techniques, & principles
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 4

Guiding Principles

 Everyone IS Biased

 Bias is normal – so is being unaware of it

 Unchecked bias __________

 Unconscious bias impacts __________

 NOTE: ALL professionals must be aware of potential 

bias, and ADR practitioners especially must be 

hyper-vigilant about bias in the ADR process!
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 5

Characteristics: ADR Practitioners Must Be

 P

 F / O

 I / N

 F

 H____________________/Free of conflict of interest

 A

 C
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 6

Inclusive Behaviors For the ADR Practitioner

 Work for the common good!

 L

 C

 S

 Build 

 A

 Experience 

 Leverage

 Move from
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 7

ADR Processes & Bias

Common types of ADR for civil cases are, 

__________, ________________, 

__________________, ___________, 

____________,_______________, 

_________________, ___________, 

_______________________ & ___________.

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS impacts them all!
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 8

Impact of Unconscious Bias

 D & J

 P & B

 B & C

 E /A /E

 __________ when “stories differ”

 Whether we think __________________
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 9

How Unconscious Bias

Can Undermine the ADR Process

 L___________ & A_______________

 Omissions/Perceptions _________/________

 I________ D_____________

 S___________ T___________

 L__________/Accents/N______/Stereotyping

 Real/perceived ____________ between parties

 Real/perceived ____________ between _______ 

& ______
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 10

Exercise—

Personal or Organizational “Blind Spots”

What are YOUR blind spots?

 ...

... 

...

...
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 11

Taking The Blind Spot Challenge
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 12

Definitions Impacting Unconscious Bias

 Micro-Inequities (Mary Rowe, MIT, originator):

1. Undercover, hard-to-prove, hurtful covert events/ 

communications/omissions, often unintentional, & 

unrecognized by perpetrators, “felt” by recipients ... 

OR Micro-Inequities: Ways that individuals are singled 

out/overlooked/ignored or discounted, based on 

unchangeable characteristics, such as race/gender/age

 Subtle/Unconscious Bias: Non-litigable actions or 

omissions involving micro-inequities/micro-aggressions

 Micro-Aggressions: Micro-inequities with a hostile, 

derogatory, demeaning, or other strong negative quality
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 13

Inclusionary/Exclusionary Factors

 A

 A

 C

 H

 Age/Generation/Gender

 Introversion/Extroversion

 W

 R

 Sexual Orientation (real/perceived)
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 14

Inclusionary/Exclusionary Factors

 Background (where you’re from, education, 

military experience, etc.)

 Parental status

 F

 Appearance

 E

 H

 T
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 15

Biased Language & Actions

 Biased phraseology

 “Female SES”

 How you say something

 Positive stereotyping

Note: Adapted from “Moving Beyond Bias,” 

© Copyright, 2002, Dr. Lester Hoffman
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 16

Reactions to Accents (Univ. of Chicago Study)

 “Accent discrimination” – usually unconscious

 Independent of ____________________

 Accents perceived as ____________________

 Difficult to understand ....... (brain processing)

 Bias against foreign speech

An excellent example of DKDK!
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 17

Examples of Name Bias

“Are Emily & Greg More Employable Than Lakisha & Jamal?”

 Published in Bureau Economic Research journal, 2002

 Identical resumes submitted to 1300+ employers

 More call-backs for ______________

 ______________

 ______________

Note: Adapted from “Anti-Bias Strategies,” © Copyright, 

2012, Dr. Lester Hoffman
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 18

Examples of Unconscious Bias: Omissions

 “Inadvertently” 

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

 Invisibility – e.g., 

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

 Excluded 

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

 Feigning inclusion 

___________________________________________

___________________________________________
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 19

Questions To Consider: Individual Action Plan

1. What specific actions can I take?

2. What needs to be done in my organization?

3. How can I help others understand?
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 20

Sources of Biased Perceptions/Judgments/Behaviors

That Mediators/Arbitrators Must Be Aware Of

Stereotype

 Definition: oversimplified, inaccurate, generalized, and fixed or 

rigid image of a person or persons belonging to a particular group

 ...

 ... 

 ...

 ...

 ...

 ...
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 21

Sources of Biased Perceptions/Judgments/Behaviors

Mediator perceptions

 The Parties

 Contrasts/differences _________________________________

 Contrasts/differences BETWEEN _______________________

 Similarity 

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

 _______________________ Identity conflicts/identity sharing

 Recency / Primacy 

 Halo / Horns
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 22

Bias In Language

Power of Language

 Mediator Language

 ...

 Differences 

 Internal dialogue 

 ...
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 23

Examples of Biased Perceptions/Judgments/Behaviors

Use of language – Gender & Age Differences

 “Bro”

 “Listen, honey”

 “Thug”

 “Hey, Junior”

 “Grandpa”
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 24

Power Imbalances

Examples:

 Supervisor -- Employee

 CO / KO / COR -- Vendor / Contractor

 Landlord -- Tenant

 Imbalances 

 Actual versus perceived 
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670 25

Personal Strategies: “What Can You Do?”

 Commit to self-awareness

 Assess your bias at: 

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

 Be open to acknowledge your bias

 Discomfort ... why?

 Notice stereotypes

 Greet people authentically—say Hello

 Explain the Mediation/ADR Process
Copyright 2015 Dr. Lester Hoffman, Skip Pettit 646-326-0960 or 301-428-0670

1. Guiding principles – be aware of potential bias

2. Inclusive behaviors – Characteristics of Mediators/ADR

3. Impact of Unconscious Bias

4. DKDK Blind Spots & Micro-Inequities

5. Inclusionary/Exclusionary Factors & Stereotypes

6. Mediator perceptions/language/actions

7. Power Imbalance (actual or perceived)

8. Create Individual & Organizational Action Plans to 

confront Unconscious Bias

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