Caroline Simard
Caroline Simard, research director at Stanford’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, will present “See Bias/Block Bias” at a Director’s Special Seminar Wednesday, June 28, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. in the Bldg. 402 Auditorium. All employees whose schedules permit are invited to attend. Refreshments will be available.
Abstract
Implicit bias is a well-documented phenomenon that affects the key “people processes” supporting organizations’ operations, culture and leadership. When bias surfaces in critical functions like recruitment, hiring and performance evaluation, it can impede effective decision-making. The result? Organizations can unintentionally turn away, overlook or lose high-potential talent. Research suggests that we can learn to 1) identify how bias can present itself in organizational functions, and 2) prevent that bias from creating errors in our decisions about people.
This talk provides an overview of the research on how biases emerge and describes the consequences — to women, under-represented minorities and others who don’t fit our stereotype of the “ideal” person for the job. We then suggest specific strategies for minimizing the effects of biases on decision making in an organizational context.
Participants will leave the session with research-based tools that are applicable across various dimensions of diversity, and that can help their organization more effectively identify, retain and promote top talent.
Biography
Caroline Simard is passionate about building better workplaces through evidence-based solutions. As research director, she is responsible for leading research designed to build more effective and inclusive organizations. Previously, she was associate director of Diversity and Leadership at the Stanford School of Medicine, where she implemented innovative models for increasing work-life integration to increase faculty satisfaction and retention.
Prior to joining Stanford University, Simard was vice president of Research and Executive Programs at the Anita Borg Institute (ABI) for Women and Technology, where she led the creation and dissemination of research-based solutions to further gender diversity in scientific and technical careers, working with leading technology companies and academic institutions. Prior to ABI, Simard was a researcher at the Center for Social Innovation of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an associate director of Executive Programs.
Simard holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a masters from Rutgers University. Her publications have focused on technical human and social capital, solutions to recruit, retain and advance women in technology, underrepresented minority talent in STEM, the diffusion of best practices, open innovation and social networks.