CSAA Insurance Group Explores the Topic of Unconscious Bias

On November 19, CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA insurer, hosted the CEO Action “Check Your Blind Spots Unconscious Bias Tour” at the company’s Walnut Creek headquarters.

“This was a highly interactive and eye-opening tour that used virtual reality and gaming technology to help our team and local community better understand and recognize our own unconscious biases, or blind spots, that can narrow vision and influence our behaviors,” said Karina De La Cruz, vice president, community at CSAA Insurance Group.

Unconscious bias can shape our likes and dislikes, and our judgments about people’s character, abilities and potential. Participants at the event were exposed to the nuances of unconscious bias people may encounter on a daily basis through a series of immersive and interactive activities. The tour is designed to help people better recognize and acknowledge their blind spots and start a meaningful conversation about how to be more inclusive at work and in the community.

The tour’s goals are to:

• Open participants’ eyes to unconscious bias in everyday life
• Empower participants with knowledge to address unconscious biases in their own lives
• Encourage them to personally commit to advancing diversity and inclusion within their own communities

The tour was created by CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion – the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace – through a $10 million investment from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The tour experience featured a handful of interactive elements, including:

Wake-Up Call: A 100% audio experience: Through a wall of ringing phones, participants pick up a receiver and overhear conversations between landlords, tenants and potential renters that reveal unintended bias.

Look Through a Different Lens: Via gamification and a digital viewfinder, participants watch an interaction between coworkers setting up a work-related event and then identify moments when unconscious biases are demonstrated.

Face Yourself, Face Reality: In front of a mirror, participants watch as their reflection fades away to reveal a different person staring back at them. Through this touchscreen experience, each new reflection shares a series of biases they've experienced.

“We work hard to be the change we want to see. Our everyday actions play a role in cultivating a more diverse and inclusive community, and as part of the tour, we’ve joined thousands nationwide in committing to action through the I Act On pledge,” Karina said. “CSAA IG is a proud signatory of the CEO Action coalition and through the tour, we helped our community explore nuances of unconscious bias that we do not even realize we have.”