9. Unconscious Bias and Brand Reputation with Jane Farrell

On 12th April 2018, two black men were arrested in a Starbucks
branch in Philadelphia while waiting for a friend to join
them.


Mobile-phone video footage of the pair being put in handcuffs in
front of disbelieving onlookers soon went viral. The arrests
sparked demonstrations outside the branch and wider outrage
across social media.


As part of the company's response, Starbucks announced that it
would close more than 8,000 of its US stores on 29th May to run
unconscious bias training sessions for around 175,000 employees.
It was an unprecedented move in high-street retail.


Jane Farrell co-founded EW Group in 1992, and is one of the UK's
leading experts on diversity and inclusion. Jane recently
appeared on Radio 4's Today programme and Channel 5 News to talk
about the Starbucks incident and the resulting spotlight on
unconscious bias training.


In this episode of Reworked, Jane speaks to Rachael Wilson about
the rise and rise of the term 'unconscious bias' in public and
professional discourse. Together they try to unravel the "Rubik's
Cube" of how advantage and disadvantage operate in different
workplaces. You'll hear Jane's own story and her formative
experiences of inclusion/exclusion in and outside of work.


Connect with Jane on LinkedIn or Twitter.


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culture.


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