Dear Kyoto NHK ESS members, This is the announcement of the latter half practice on Feb.14. ☆Title: "Unconscious Bias"(赤いランドセルは女の子用？～無意識の思い込み～) Unconscious bias, also called implicit bias, is a form of stereotyping that is often unintentional, automatic, and outside our awareness. All of us, both men and women, are influenced by our experiences and make judgements without being explicitly aware of how our decisions are impacted by our unconscious. Unconscious bias links social group; with characteristics, such as gender, race, and religion, which generate relative disadvantages for especially underrepresented groups, such as women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). As unconscious bias resides outside of awareness, it is not possible to completely eliminate it, but It is possible to minimize its negative impact by recognizing that we all have it and by understanding how it works.
☆Procedures:1 Make 3～4 groups.
2 (17:45-18:00) Please work on“無意識の思い込み”check sheet.
3 Read the article “アンコンシャス・バイアス”（朝日2026. Jan. 24）and exchange your comments in your group on each question below. (18:00-18:40)
(1) How do you think about your results?
Please show your check sheet to other members.
(2) Do you expect men to be assertive, strong and driven?
And do you expect men as taking charge and should be a leader?
(3) In Japan, it’s common to categorize students into “Rikei”(STEM) and “Bunkei”(humanities) groups. There are few female students in “Rikei”.Why?
(4) Do expect women to be helpful, sensitive and supportive?And do you expect women as taking care and stay home?
(5) Do you think younger people are tech -savvy, whereas elder people are not?
And do you think the elders are stubborn, while younger people play it by ear?
(6) Are red school bags only for girls? How about black school bags?
(7) What image do you have of Asian people?How about black people and European people? (the appearance, culture, religion, life style and so on.) What image do you have of Kyusyudanji(九州男児)?
(8) What do you think are the tips to behave bias-free?
Hoping you'll enjoy my practice! Motoko Tabata