“SXSW considers itself ‘An essential destination for global professionals’ and we can’t wait to increase RVA’s profile here while we meet some of the many people interested our session and book!” says TMI Consulting, Inc. founder, author and Loom Technologies CEO Dr. Tiffany Jana. “We’re coming to SXSW to present a workshop we named after our new book Erasing Institutional Bias: How to Create Systemic Change for Organizational Inclusion and to sign copies of the book.”

The session booked up two weeks before the event. Now there’s a waitlist. The online schedule shows almost 400 people favoriting the session and the number keeps climbing.

“Our workshop will focus on identifying and addressing systemic and institutional bias that results from often unconscious biases to which we are all vulnerable,” says Diaz Mejias. “We want to help people challenge their assumptions and open up to encountering people, cultures and ideas outside their comfort zone.”

“Today more than ever we see evidence of bias in the news, in politics, government, business, education and our personal lives,” says Dr. Jana. “I’m sure that’s why so many people jumped on the chance to participate in our session. They want to understand what systemic bias is, how it’s perpetuated and how they, as individuals, can disrupt it.”

For more on the March 13, 11 am-2 pm, session visit https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/events/PP85710.

Look for the book Erasing Institutional Bias at the SXSW bookstore or at the book signing. Jana and Diaz Mejias address hiring bias, gender bias, racial bias, occupational bias and customer bias. Its last two chapters expand on the idea of retribution bias — the human tendency to favor punishment over healing and relationship. For more on the book visit at https://erasinginstitutionalbias.com/. For more on their book signing later the same afternoon, 3:45-4:30 pm, please visit https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/events/OE39692.

 

Last summer, months before the book came out, Jana and Diaz Mejias proposed the Erasing Institutional Bias session to the SXSW Panel Picker where people vote online for what they want to see at SXSW. They needed to impress enough voters and the SXSW Advisory Board and staff to be able to score a coveted session spot at this year’s March 8-17 event.

Both authors will be posting about their experiences on social media accounts — their own, TMI Consulting, Inc.’s and Richmond GRID’s Instagram.

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