As individuals, he/him, she/her or they/them, we have all faced a form of bias in our lives. We have been both the victims and the perpetrators of biases. It’s not entirely our fault as our biases have been embedded in our consciousness since birth. Most of us are unconscious of those biases and we go about our lives interacting with others from our communities and in the workplace carrying these prejudices on our back.

While the theme of Women’s Month is breaking the biases towards women from all parts of the world, this celebration is also a call for gender equality for everyone— young or old. To break the biases the whole community and every single individual must be involved. The first step, however, is to recognize that we are a walking checklist of prejudices and biases. 

Breaking free begins with you. 

From this acceptance, we begin the true change that starts within us. We become cognizant of our thoughts and beliefs that are translated into our words and actions.  In short, we walk the talk— we practice what we preach. This starts with deep introspection. For example, we can ask ourselves, “how do I treat my female versus male friends or colleagues?,” or "am I judging someone because of their race, sexual orientation or age?”  By answering these simple questions, you begin to dissect where your own biases come from. 

It’s easy to ride the bandwagon to fight for equality for women but the question is, are we all walking the talk?  Once we admit to our own biases, we can dig into the causes that formed these prejudices. In this light, we become active participants in the unfolding of a new transformation to fight against inequality. 

As Roberston Davies puts it– “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” May his beautiful words of wisdom guide you as you open your heart and mind to #BreaktheBias.

Find out more about this year’s Women’s Month theme here.