Workshops that utilize interactive theater to identify and to prevent biases that may compromise the fairness of interviews.
Workshops that utilize interactive theater to identify and to
prevent biases that may compromise the fairness of interviews.
GEAR UP workshops are designed to simulate typical scenarios in which biases might compromise the fairness of interviews. The workshop commences with an initial play, lasting 20 minutes, comprising five scenes, called the Search, about five members of an academic search committee. The members include a tenured professor who is reluctant to change, a progressive junior academic who does not want to offend anyone, two colleagues who disagree about the future direction of this department, and the chair of this committee, striving to foster harmony. To illustrate, during this play
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during the first meeting, an animated conversation unfolds about the possibility the job advertisement is gender biased
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the tenured professor believes that hiring one of the under-represented candidates would compromise the department
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the five committee members discuss the effects of the two last candidates: the under-represented candidate and the other candidate
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after the under-represented candidate is chosen, the tenured professor has to reluctantly welcome this person, because the department chair is away
The play demonstrates some implicit or unconscious biases. To illustrate, committee members sometimes refer to the male candidates as Dr or Professor but the female candidate by her first name
After individuals watch they play, they participate in a facilitated discussion about the sources of tension and can ask questions to the characters. The characters can thus discuss their motivations, sometimes revealing their biases. Finally, audience members can suggest how characters should have responded, and scenes in the play are repeated. After this program was implemented, the proportion of academics who were female increased.
Further reading
Shea, C. M., Malone, M. F. F. T., Young, J. R., & Graham, K. J. (2019). Interactive theater: An effective tool to reduce gender bias in faculty searches. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.