Reimagining Diversity Training

Reimagining Diversity Training with Mindfulness and Compassion Cultivation

Presenter: Amish Patel

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Wenwen Ni

Department: Psychology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program, McNair

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Diversity and Social Justice

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1K-ytOg3AVr8heZdlLupseuz_ww-9wSZm

Abstract:
Research has indicated since the 1930’s that diversity trainings are ineffective in not only hiring a diverse workforce, but also in improving race relations. Despite this research, corporations and institutions are still investing billions of dollars in these trainings in order to attempt to mitigate bias and improve racial relations in the workforce. One primary factor as to why diversity training is ineffective is because of implicit bias. Implicit biases are deeply ingrained in our minds; that is why it will take more than a standard diversity training to bring about change in people’s behavior. This research aims to follow a new line of research which suggests that mindfulness meditation may have the potential to reduce implicit bias. My research seeks to determine an alternative strategic approach to diversity training that implements mindfulness; I hypothesize that mindfulness has the potential to reduce implicit biases when implemented in the context of diversity training. Our survey consists of a control group that participates in a standard diversity training along with an experimental group that partakes in a mindfulness integrated diversity training to measure if there was a reduction of implicit bias. Though this research project is still in its preliminary stages, the need for this work is crucial as discrimination and social inequity gain public awareness.