JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The 315th Airlift Wing, in conjunction with Google, conducted bias and inclusion training for wing senior leaders on Sept. 9, 2016.
“This training came about by partnering with our local business leaders,” said Col. Greg Gilmour, 315th Airlift Wing commander. “The training that was conducted was extremely valuable to our wing leadership. We all have some inherent biases, recognizing those biases is the first step in overcoming them and we own that to our Airmen,” he said.
The “Bias Busting Training” is a common training given to Google employees and Eric Wages, 315 AW honorary commander and Google site operations manager along with Sandra Figueroa, Google operations manager, conducted the training for nearly 50 members of the 315 AW’s leadership team.
“The goal here is to teach people about unconscious biases and to understand how those biases work with the people around you,” said Wages. “Having a diverse team leads to better decision making and more innovation so today is about making you aware of your own biases,” he said.
According to Col. Gilmour, the bias training was part of his strategic plan by “investing in our Airmen and creating a culture of inclusion in the wing.” The training consisted of formal classroom instructions, small group discussions and role play scenarios. The group also openly discussed leading personnel from different backgrounds, cultures and sexual orientations and the challenges associated with a diverse workforce.
“The plan now is to take this training to the Airmen,” said Wages. “I think it is important for Airmen at every level to understand what their internal biases are,” he said.
“Everybody’s got a story and your job as leaders is to find out what that story is because they will be the leaders long after we are gone,” said Col. Gilmour as he closed the training session.