Addressing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the Workplace by Fostering Cultural Humility

Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are two of the most frequently occurring religious and ethnic biases in the United States today. BiasSync’s Ph.D.s tackle the issue head-on with actionable tips, insights, and skills to mitigate impact and build inclusive workplace cultures.

LOS ANGELES, APRIL 25, 2024 – Driven by the rapid rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia nationwide. BiasSync, a leading provider of science-backed equity diagnostic and bias mitigation solutions, today launched its proprietary training module: Addressing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the Workplace by Fostering Cultural Humility.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)  has reported a 361% increase in antisemitism in the last quarter of 2023. “Despite constituting only 2% of the American workforce, more than half of Jewish workers had experienced microaggressions and even discrimination.” Says BiasSync CEO Michele Ruiz. “Current events are spilling into the workplace.” 

Similarly, Muslim employees, who represent only 1% of the American population, also endure a disproportionate percentage of reported hate crimes. More recently, The Council of American-Islamic Relations reported a 61% increase in anti-Muslim incidents in 2023 - and an 182% jump in the first few weeks following October 7th.

“Workplaces are grappling with increased microaggressions and discrimination risk, resulting in disruptions to productivity and belonging. Having a science-based training module rooted in positive psychology, like BiasSync’s latest offering, can go a long way in minimizing that disruption. Employees are upskilled in a way that can be beneficial for overall levels of inclusion and belonging,” Ruiz said. 

Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are two of the most frequently occurring religious and ethnic biases in the United States today. BiasSync’s Ph.D.s tackle the issue head-on with actionable tips, insights, and skills to mitigate impact and build inclusive workplace cultures.

Through this self-paced, asynchronous module, employees gain an understanding of both subtle and overt forms of religious and ethnic bias in the workplace, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. It highlights the prevalence of hate crimes against Jewish people and Muslims, provides education on common missteps in allyship, and emphasizes the need to address these biases strategically. It presents positive psychology strategies to increase allyship and enhance cultural humility. The training content includes a celebration of the contributions Jewish and Muslim individuals have made both to society and to the workplace. Overall, the training is designed to be comprehensive, inclusive, and informative, aiming to promote understanding and acceptance of diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural perspectives in the workplace.

The module includes:

• A historical perspective of religious and ethnic-based bias
• Tips on how to recognize the impact of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
• Allyship and cultural humility strategies
• Six related microlearnings
• Quarterly microlearning impact reports
• CultureConnect™, a proprietary cultural humility assessment, data report, and recommendations
• A facilitation guide to support people managers.

This module is paired with BiasSync’s proprietary CultureConnect™ assessment. This groundbreaking tool takes employees beyond traditional cultural competency and applies the science of cultural humility to workplace scenarios that assess levels of culturally responsive behavior. Participants can explore scientifically-validated results and receive actionable recommendations based on their individual CultureConnect™ Profile. In turn, insights from the aggregated data help organizational leaders build higher-functioning teams, enhance client relationships, lower discrimination risk, and elevate the self-awareness of employees in multicultural settings.

“As a leading provider of behavior change solutions rooted in the mitigation of implicit bias, we’re proud to expand our offerings with Addressing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the Workplace by Fostering Cultural Humility and the CultureConnect Assessment™,” Ruiz says. “Practicing cultural humility will help mitigate anti-Semitism and Islamophobia” 

Both the CultureConnect™ assessment and the new module on Addressing Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the Workplace by Fostering Cultural Humility reflect BiasSync’s commitment to pair evidence-based approaches and diagnostic tools to change behavior. To learn more about BiasSync’s proprietary offerings, we encourage you to contact the team.

About BiasSync

Los Angeles-based BiasSync is a software-as-a-service company providing a science-based solution designed to help organizations more effectively measure and manage unconscious bias in the work environment. Its purpose is to create a more fair and respectful workplace.