Bias Interrupted - by Joan C Williams (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A cutting edge, objective, relentless approach to inclusion. American companies spend close to $8 billion annually on diversity efforts, with remarkably few results. Too often diversity efforts rest on the assumption that all that's needed is an earnest conversation about 'privilege.' That's not enough. To truly make progress with diversity, equity and inclusion, we must focus less on documenting the problem and more on just stopping the transmission of it. In Bias Interrupted, Joan C. Williams shows how it's done, and reassuringly, how easy it is to get started. Leaders just need to use standard business systems and standard business tools-data and metrics-to interrupt the bias that is constantly transmitted through formal systems like performance appraisals and the informal systems that control access to opportunities, like mentoring programs. The book presents fresh evidence based on Williams's research and work with companies, in that interrupting bias helps every group-including white men. Comprehensive, though compact and straightforward, Bias Interrupted delivers real, practical value in as efficient and accessible manner as possible to an audience that has never needed it more. It's possible to interrupt bias. Here's where you start"--

Book Synopsis

A cutting-edge, relentless, objective approach to inclusion.

Companies spend billions of dollars annually on diversity efforts with remarkably few results. Too often diversity efforts rest on the assumption that all that's needed is an earnest conversation about "privilege." That's not enough. To truly make progress we need to stop celebrating the problem and instead take effective steps to solve it.

In Bias Interrupted, Joan C. Williams shows how it's done, and, reassuringly, how easy it is to get started. One of today's preeminent voices on inclusive workplaces, Williams explains how leaders can use standard business tools—data, metrics, and persistence—to interrupt the bias that is continually transmitted through formal systems like performance appraisals, as well as the informal systems that control access to career-enhancing opportunities. The book presents fresh evidence, based on Williams's exhaustive research and work with companies, that interrupting bias helps every group—including white men.

Comprehensive, though compact and straightforward, Bias Interrupted delivers real, practical value in an efficient and accessible manner to an audience that has never needed it more. It's possible to interrupt bias. Here's where you start.

Review Quotes

"Smart, insightful and written for top executives..." -- Forbes

"Bias Interrupted is well written and thoughtful. Education leaders can reflect on universal institutional practices and work to improve the environment for their staff, which will improve the outcomes for our students." -- School Administrator (AASA, American Association of School Administrators)

"Topped off with several chapters directed separately at CEOs, chief diversity officers and human resources heads, and managers looking to meet DEI goals, Bias Interrupted tackles a complex and often contentious subject and packs a tremendous amount of research, evidence, strategy, and good old straight talk." -- Civil Engineering (ASCE)

"...a clear and convincing guide for how to systematically attack bias in your organization's practices." -- Charter

"This book is a data-filled resource for talent development professionals involved in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at their organizations." -- T+D Magazine

"This brief book, with the bold promise of its subtitle, can do more for true "diversity" in businesses, universities and community programmes than all the well-meaning workshops designed to teach people what racists and sexists they are and how important diversity is." -- TLS (The Times Literary Supplement)

Advance Praise for Bias Interrupted:

"How do you move DEI from acronym to action? Joan Williams shines the light on the realities of the modern workplace and how small but important steps can usher in real change." -- KATIE COURIC, award-winning former ABC News journalist; former cohost, NBC's Today show; former anchor, CBS Evening News; New York Times bestselling author, The Best Advice I Ever Got; and founder, Katie Couric Media

"Bias Interrupted could not be more valuable or more timely. This book is a godsend. It's a deeply researched blend of evidence and practical, actionable advice." -- ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER, CEO, New America

"Joan Williams's groundbreaking approaches deftly deploy leading-edge research insights across real-world organizational terrains. Bias Interrupted captures the pragmatic and actionable approach that enabled us to move the needle on advancing diversity and belonging." -- MELISSA THOMAS-HUNT, former Global Head of Diversity and Belonging, Airbnb

"Professor Williams is a unicorn. A researcher, policy maker, and visionary, she offers hope for the future with a blueprint for change in the present using context from the past. This is a must-read for any leader eager to create an equitable workplace and a first-mover advantage in a postpandemic world." -- EVE RODSKY, author, Fair Play

"Common sense. Clarity. Joan Williams brings a refreshingly actionable and necessary point of view to the poorly understood world of diversity, equity, and inclusion." -- ABIGAIL DISNEY, film producer, philanthropist, and social activist

About the Author

Joan C. Williams is a Distinguished Professor of Law, Hastings Foundation Chair, and Director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Described by the New York Times Magazine as having "something approaching rock star status" in her field, she has played a central role in debates over structural inequality for decades. Her 2014 cowritten book, What Works for Women at Work, was praised by the New York Times Book Review as "deftly combining sociological research with a more casual narrative style . . . [that] offers unabashedly straightforward advice in a how-to primer for ambitious women." Describing her 2017 book, White Working Class, the Washington Post noted that President Joe Biden carried a dog-eared copy "everywhere, scrawling notes on the pages and pulling out well-worn copies to share passages."

You can find Joan C. Williams at:
biasinterrupted.org
joancwilliams.com