Two e-learning courses from Engage in Learning covering unconscious bias have been accredited by the CIPD – the only body in the world that can award Chartered status to individual HR and L&D professionals.

In officially accrediting the Engage in Learning courses – ‘Unconscious Bias’ and ‘Unconscious Bias for Managers’ – the CIPD confirmed that their learning value and structure conforms to CPD guidelines. Moreover, the courses’ assessor, from the CIPD, described them as “informative” and “easy to navigate”.

Chris Horseman, Engage in Learning’s CEO, explained, “It’s important to recognise – and compensate for – the influence of unconscious bias. That’s particularly true in the world of work for executives, as well as customer-facing staff.

“Unconscious bias happens by our brains making quick judgments of people and situations based purely on our background, experiences, societal stereotypes and cultural context. We’re often not even aware of these views, nor are we aware of their full impact and implications.

“Research has found that unconscious bias can heavily influence recruitment and selection decisions,” he continued. “Several experiments using CV shortlisting exercises have highlighted bias in terms of gender and ethnicity.

“The consequences include rating male candidates as ‘better qualified’ than females, offering males a higher starting salary and being willing to invest more in developing male workers. All of this impacts people’s career structures, incomes and well-being.”

The Engage in Learning e-learning materials focusing on unconscious bias explain the concept of unconscious bias; describe its impact on customers and colleagues; outline a selection of common biases; explore a range of techniques to uncover biases, and put forward a systematic process for challenging bias.

Kate Carter, Engage in Learning’s Operations and Marketing Manager, commented, “The two CIPD-accredited programmes help learners to see how a diverse work culture can benefit everyone; review a range of techniques that help design bias out of decisions about recruitment and performance management, as well as understand how unconscious bias shapes micro-behaviours and the impact on team dynamics.

“Everyone needs to be aware of how unconscious bias affects the way they work,” she added. “Yet this challenging subject is, thankfully, well-suited to exploration via interactive, challenging and stimulating e-learning.

“So, we’re delighted that the CIPD has chosen to recognise the worth of these two Engage in Learning e-learning programmes.”

For further details about Engage in Learning’s impressively popular portfolio of e-learning materials, visit: https://www.engageinlearning.com/

CIPD is the professional body for experts in people at work. With hubs in the UK, Ireland, the Middle East and Asia, CIPD is the career partner of choice for 150,000 members around the world. It’s the only body in the world that can award Chartered status to individual HR and L&D professionals, and its independent research and insights make the CIPD trusted advisers to governments and employers.