We’d all like to think of ourselves as unbiased. But today we’re talking about implicit bias—those thoughts and feelings about other social groups that are outside of our awareness and control. We pick these things up through cultural conditioning, our own upbringing, media, experience. These biases can lead to stereotyping, can impact how you treat others and are linked to discrimination. All things we’re working against in our pursuit of creating a better workplace. So I’m really excited to share a few highlights from my conversation with Carolina Castañeda del Rio, COO at Hacienda CDC. She joined me to talk about her experience immigrating from Mexico as an adult and offered some ways that we can all address our bias when working with people from cultures and countries outside of our own.
A new chapter, a new culture
Carolina started by sharing her story: Born in Mexico City, raised in Guanajuato, moved to the US eight years ago to complete the second year of her Master’s degree at Southern Oregon University. The first surprise? Her identity changed in a major way when she moved to the US. She explained, “When I came to the US, I became a Latina. Before that, I was just Carolina. I identified as a Mexican and that was it. Latina is not a term that I use in Mexico. But the second new identity I put on? Alien immigrant.”
Carolina discovered a new realm of labels, of biases, of identity, all based on the fact that she is a woman who had immigrated from Mexico. In her experience, Latino had always been gender-neutral but here in the US, the terms Latino for males, Latina for females and Latinx to encompass all genders became a part of her new reality. So, what’s the right term? “Honestly, when I get all these questions about the correct term for this and for that, I usually say it’s the correct term for now, because as you know culture changes and the terms will change.” She reminded me that we all need to get comfortable with uncertainty. Sometimes we’ll say the wrong term, and then there’s a new term. We all need to get used to it and keep asking the right questions.
Correcting some common assumptions
While we were on the topic, Carolina corrected some of the assumptions about the Latinx population she’s noticed during her time in the US. “We aren’t all Mexicans and not everyone who is Latinx speaks Spanish.” Beyond those broader assumptions, she’s also noticed there are a lot of stereotypes about the kind of work or jobs that they can do—which tends toward lower level positions. She explains, “I’ve seen lots of organizations touting diversity because they have a lot of Latinx employees. And most of them are in entry-level positions and very few or little are in leadership or the C-level positions at all. Even non-profit organizations that work with the Latino community are often led by white people or most people in leadership are white.”
Recognizing our own bias
So, how do we address the implicit biases that feed into these disparities in the workplace? And what if you recognize it within yourself? The important thing is to take it in and learn from it. Carolina suggests, “There will be a time where life will let you know that you have a bias and when that happens, don’t feel offended and just think about it. Instead of responding to it with resistance, welcome this as new information for you to consider and change, because any feedback that you receive at least 10% is true.” She recommends taking the Harvard Implicit Bias test to see where your implicit bias lies. And if you ever feel like it’s all too complicated, “Remember, we’re all learning about this together, so don’t get discouraged. Mistakes happen. The most important piece is just keep learning about it.”
Carolina had lots more say—for the full podcast, check out the episode here or listen below. You can also learn more about Carolina and the amazing work she does with Hacienda CDC at www.haciendacdc.org. Contact them to visit, take a tour, or visit the Portland Mercado, their business incubator that offers foods from different parts of Latin America.