As part of its Fair Housing Action Plan, NAR has teamed up with the Perception Institute to create a free online workshop to help members avoid implicit bias in their daily business interactions.
What is implicit bias?
It is important to understand that implicit bias is not the same thing as racism, although the two concepts are related. Overt racism involves conscious prejudice against members of a particular racial group and can be influenced by both explicit and implicit biases.
Other forms of discrimination that can be influenced by unconscious biases include ageism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism. One of the benefits of being aware of the potential impact of implicit social biases is that you can take an active role in overcoming social stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice.
Implicit bias is when we have automatic associations or attitudes toward particular groups. Everyone has implicit biases. Think of a Hybrid car owner versus someone who owns an H2; or think of the cities of Minneapolis versus Worthington. Our minds automatically conjure up images of these people without knowing anything more about them other than what they drive or where they live.
Implicit bias drives response and affects body language, which can cause different behaviors towards different people. Brokers and agents should take steps to ensure that they are treating everyone fairly and equally.
This workshop strives to point out how we may respond and act towards different types of people and helps us understand how our unconscious brains stereotype others without our knowing it. You’ll learn practical tools, so you won’t have to worry about saying the “wrong” thing.
For more information on Fair Housing, please visit nar.realtor/fair-housing.
Watch “Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing”
Take an Implicit Bias Test