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Photo of Lorena Garcia Duran, Director of DEI initiatives at Ashoka. Person with lighter skin and dark brown shoulder length hair smiling at the camera. Background of a covered walkway
Origen: Lorean Garcia Durán

The Power of Unconscious Bias

This article originally appeared on Medium

Almost 40% of the population in Mexico lives in poverty, making less than $6 dollars a day.

Ten percent of the nation’s wealthiest have more than 40% of the nation’s total income. The level of poverty and all its consequences are more acutely felt amongst the Indigenous population which makes up 20% of the 126 million people living in Mexico.

I was raised in Mexico, and domestic workers played an instrumental role in my childhood.

I grew up with conflicting and polarizing sentiments towards the people that worked in my home. On one side these people were at times my closest friends and loving caregivers, while at the same time the classist and racist society all around pushed me to detach myself physically and emotionally from them.

As you can imagine, I grew up with an internal conflict that looking back I am quite grateful for, since it helped me become more aware of my own biases.

Growing up like this is quite normal for a good number of Mexicans. If you have watched the movie Roma, you might have a better understanding of what I am talking about. The movie invites the spectator to question human bias while aiming to deconstruct racist and classist stigmas. It struck a deep personal chord within me because it exposed how so many of my close friends and family are blinded by unconscious bias and are not able to see the unjust and cruel reality of the life of domestic workers that the movie so clearly exposes.

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Ashoka insight

I think there has never been a better moment to take action, to turn our unconscious bias into proactive conversations where we challenge ourselves, question our beliefs, and honor our privilege. Becoming aware of our biases means becoming aware of how they inform our thoughts, feelings, and actions toward ourselves and others.

I have to confess I’ve become obsessed with this topic. Partly because I belong to an organization that wants to build a world where everyone is a changemaker. A world that works for everyone is a big aspiration, and now more than ever, after 11 years of being part of this organization, I couldn’t be more proud and excited to be part of the Ashoka community.

Today, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to become awakened. To mark this moment of history as the moment where we all step up to honor our privilege and change this system that does not work for the vast majority.