Implicit Bias Isn't Discrimination. But It Leads to It

In April, a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia called the police on two black men sitting peacefully inside a coffee shop. The culprit, according to Starbucks’ CEO and the city’s mayor, was implicit bias—subconscious thought that can influence behavior. Headlines like CNN’s “What the Starbucks incident tells us about implicit bias” soon followed. In response, Starbucks closed its doors for half a day in May to put 175,000 employees through a program to educate them about racial bias.

Implicit bias is a trendy explanation for everyday discrimination. In the wake of high-profile bias incidents, companies and organizations often prescribe implicit bias training without knowing what actually caused the incident in question. And that, says some experts in the field, is a big problem. Implicit bias is subconscious thought. Although it might lead to discrimination, there’s no way to know without testing someone in a lab.