CIICPD 2023

more comprehensive tools to not only recognise their own biases but also to be able to implement the knowledge into their managerial practice. VW, therefore, introduced a holistic programme in 2020, in order to launch a group-wide project called Diversity Wins @ Volkswagen (Volkswagen AG, 2022a) and train almost twenty thousand of their direct superiors across the VW Group. Aiming at the company’s DEI strategy, the programme was adjusted to each of the brand’s sociocultural contexts. The sessions provided managers not only with a clear insight into what diversity and inclusion are in their practice but also with a set of tools using the principles of nudge management that foster psychological safety, i.e. an environment where feelings of risks and reputation damage while sharing own ideas and perspectives are eliminated in implementation. The Diversity Wins @ VW training consists of two main sections. The first section focuses on training managers to recognise varied types of biases while identifying typical situations from their practices. The managers are introduced to a selection of 16 types of biases (Figure 1) considered widespread in the corporate environment. In practical activities, organised as teamwork and discussions, the managers describe the most common pitfalls they frequently face when leading their teams.

Table 1: Frequent types of unconscious biases TYPE OF BIAS DEFINITION Affinity bias

Tendency to evaluate more positively those who are like us and share our worldview Tendency to like things to stay relatively the same Expectations towards a member of a group to have certain characteristics from the group as a whole Tendency to give preferential treatment to individuals that are part of their group

Status quo bias Stereotyping

In-group bias

Ignoring an obvious (negative) situation

Ostrich effect Confirmation bias

Tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one’s perceptions Planning fallacy Tendency to underestimate the time needed to complete a task Illusion of transparency People overestimate others’ ability to know themselves, and they also overestimate their ability to know others Halo effect Tendency to project a person’s positive or negative traits over other people Not invented here Aversion to using products, research, standards or knowledge developed outside a group Bandwagon eff ect Tendency to do or believe things because many other people do or believe the same. Authority bias Tendency to attribute greater accuracy to the opinion of an authority and be more influenced by that opinion Information bias Interpreting information according to one’s own perspective based on one’s own experience and knowledge

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