Harnessing the Science of Cognitive-Behavioral Change to Reduce Bias, Create Inclusion, and Promote Equity
Inequity Agents of Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to widespread dissemination of evidence-based methods to create lasting, meaningful change Our work is built on the established model of the bias habit-breaking training, which has been experimentally tested and refined in over a dozen randomized-controlled trials over the last 17 years. We provide this training and free ongoing engagement resources to individuals and organizations around the world, harnessing the science of cognitive-behavioral change to empower people as agents of change to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity.
The Bias Habit-Breaking Training teaches skills that are…
Actionable (involve doing something)
Self-sustainable (over time)
Customizable (to different contexts)
Generalizable (to various target groups, including race, gender, the LGBTQ+ community, age, disability, and more)
And with these skills, you can become an agent of change who can effectively …
Reduce bias (individual-level change)
Create inclusion (interpersonal-level change)
Promote equity (institutional-level change)
“I just wanted to reach out to let you know, while I think I have participated in [the bias habit-breaking training three times previously], I truly enjoyed the session today. It was so well coordinated and presented in a way that was easy to understand while also connecting the neuroscience of our brains to our behaviors that influence related to biases. Great job and looking forward to more.”
– One of many great testimonials about the bias habit-breaking training
The Bias Habit-Breaking Training
Over the past 17 years, Dr. Cox and his colleagues have used the science of cognitive-behavioral change to develop, experimentally test, and refine the bias habit-breaking training, which focuses on skill development, to help attendees become autonomous, effective agents of change who:
Are equipped to disrupt race bias, gender bias, and other intergroup biases, in both their own behavior and in the world around them, and
Are empowered to reduce the influence of those biases using concrete evidence-based tools to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity.
Unlike many non-scientific efforts, the bias habit-breaking training has been tested in over a dozen randomized-controlled experiments that show it causes beneficial, long-lasting changes on a variety of outcomes.
Most of this work was funded by grants from the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.
Diverse Joy - Our Official Podcast
Inequity Agents of Change also provides a variety of free evidence-based diversity resources. One free resource, built on the established model of the bias habit-breaking training, is our podcast and series of educational videos, Diverse Joy.
In each episode Dr. Cox and his co-host Dr. Amber Nelson infuse science, practical skills, and most of all joy into diversity discussions! New episodes release the first Wednesday of every month.
Check out the Diverse Joy page for more information about following the show.
Featured Testimonial
“Dr. Cox made the content accessible and meaningful in a way that I have never experienced before.”
Featured Testimonial
“[Dr Cox is] the Bruce Springsteen of public speaking!”
Dr. William T. L. Cox - Founder & CEO, Inequity Agents of Change
A brief introductory video from Dr. William T. L. Cox about his background
In 2022, Dr. Cox was interviewed by Emily Auerbach of Wisconsin Public Radio for “University of the Air”; the episode is described by WPR as:
“Groundbreaking work in UW’s Stereotyping and Bias Research Lab has found new, evidence-based ways to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity.”
Lisen here! (The interview is about 53 minutes in length.)
In Business Madison named Dr. Cox one of the members of the 2024 class of their annual Forty Under 40, which “honors 40 of the most successful and civic-minded young professionals under the age of 40 in the Greater Madison area.”
Evidence-Based Approaches to Reduce Bias, Create Inclusion, and Promote Equity
Scientific research consistently shows that non-scientific diversity and bias reduction training programs do little to create lasting behavioral or organizational change. In response, nearly every major scientific organization (e.g., NIH, NSF, AAAS) has emphasized the need for evidence-based approaches to addressing bias and promoting diversity. The goal of understanding, predicting, and changing human behavior is best served by the scientific method, and addressing issues of bias, diversity, and inclusion is no exception; it requires a scientific, evidence-based approach to create change and demonstrate the effectiveness of efforts to reduce bias and enhance diversity.
Our work with the bias habit-breaking training, however, is built on the science of cognitive-behavioral change, and the training has been tested and refined in over a dozen randomized-controlled trials — the same type of experimental trials used to validate medical interventions. This research has shown the training to be effective at creating lasting, meaningful changes on a variety of important, measurable outcomes, with effects lasting for years after the training session. Check out our recently published peer-reviewed scientific paper for a comprehensive review of this testing and development, here: Cox, 2023).
We want to empower as many people as possible with evidence-based approaches to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity. Contact us if you’re interested in booking a training for your organization.
The Bias Habit-Breaking Training
Dr. William T. L. Cox
The bias habit-breaking training was developed, tested, and refined over the last 17 years by leading scientists from top universities in the U.S. and Canada, including our Founder/CEO, Dr. William Cox, Dr. Patricia Devine, Dr. Molly Carnes, and their colleagues, building on more than 30 years of scientific research on prejudice, stereotyping, and bias.
Over the past 17 years, this training has been administered with many different audiences, including public school teachers, professors, graduate students, lawyers, judges, doctors, police officers, tech companies, and others. Randomized-controlled tests have shown that the training causes long-term decreases in measured levels of implicit bias and increases in awareness and concern about racial and other forms of discrimination. The training equips people with tools to recognize and address bias, and experiments have shown that people who have completed the training are significantly more likely to speak up against bias and confront bias in the world around them, up to at least 2-3 years post-training. One large-scale experimental test of the training led to a 43% increase in the hiring of members of underrepresented groups (Cox, 2023). In over a dozen randomized-controlled studies, our team has tested this training’s replicability and long-term effectiveness, with effects lasting up to at least 2-3 years.