An examination of different biases, many of which we are unaware we possess, and how they affect particular groups of people.
Many of the examples of biases the author discussed, both micro and macro, were definite food for thought, but the narrative occasionally got bogged down in studies, research, data, blah blah blah. Of course, I realize that without the stats to back up her case, it would just be a book of her opining, so…necessary, but a bit boring at times.
Thanks to #netgalley and #metropolitanbooks for this #arc of #theendofbias in exchange for an honest review.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really great read! can't wait to recommend this for sure, more people need to read this

The End of Bias by Jessica Nordell is a very well-written and well-researched book about the unconscious bias that many people have and how we can become more aware of our biases. One of the chapters that I found particularly interesting was about how some people have used mindfulness and meditation to help them focus on the present; and instead of immediately judging someone, they focus on offering compassion to others. I also appreciated Nordell's honesty about overcoming her own biases. She says, "Once I set aside my attachment to notions of my own rightness, I could take an honest inventory of the fears, errors, lack of skill, and biases that had led me to act in ways that harmed others." I highly recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I don’t think there are many people who would openly admit to being biased against another group of people. We might think that we’re fair and have no prejudices, but that’s just not how our brains are wired. We all have biases even when we are completely unaware of their existence. The good news is, even though unintentional biases affect everyone, we are not defenseless against them - and that’s exactly what The End of Bias is about. The biases discussed in this book go beyond racial bias (although that kind rightfully takes up a big chunk of the book); Nordell writes also about gender bias and bias against people with disabilities. It’s a fascinating and thought-provoking book that explains in detail where bias comes from, how it influences our behavior, what effects it can have on people on its receiving end, and how we can dismantle it. The things Nordell writes about aren’t strictly academic - there’s a lot of real life examples of how bias works and how becoming aware of it can be life-changing. The example that stayed with me the most was the Community Safety Partnership - a program where a carefully chosen unit of policemen was dedicated to three public housing projects in Watts and another one in East L.A. The way the policemen were supposed to interact with the community was completely different from what we’re used to - they were instructed to shift their focus from arrests to building a relationship with the community. It was put upon those officers to try and rebuild some sort of trust with people who rightfully were very wary of them, in some cases too wary to take part in the program. The results were incredible; arrests have dropped by 50%, extreme use of force by 60%. Of course, by supporting the community by doing all sorts of projects that the community needed (for example, the officers helped people get permits so that they could sell fresh produce in a food desert), the police have taken on a job much better suited to social workers, but the program does show what a difference being mindful and learning about others can make.

The End of Bias is a fantastic, extremely important book that should be mandatory reading for all of us. It shows that while bias is something we all unknowingly struggle with, we all can change and become the unbiased people we imagine ourselves to be.

How is this for bias? I read the title and the summary and immediately thought we would be discussing racial bias and racial bias alone. Surprise! Instead, this book discusses bias in many forms. Many of the events that Nordell used to illustrate bias were not new to me; however, there were several interesting and new ideas brought up about how to combat bias. There was a good focus on how training within several police forces was used to combat bias and lead to lower rates of problems (killings, injuries, arrests, harassment, gang activity, etc). I also enjoyed learning how a school in Sweden realized they were actively teaching gender bias to their students and what changes they made. I liked that solutions and ways people could work towards minimizing their own biases were offered. The only draw back I found was that most of the suggestions shown were on a very small scale without any indication how they could be expanded to a larger group. And while I realize that changes can be made one small group at a time, I worry that divisiveness and bigotry are increasing faster than these small groups can make an impact.

After reading a few books on racism, harassments and equal rights, I found this book rather refreshing and interesting. It frames the idea of bias in a more general way and makes one more aware of the slippery slope of stereotypes to biases we act upon. An interesting read coming at the right time.