Stacey D. Stewart - Understanding Implicit Bias

Stacey D. Stewart is the CEO of the March of Dimes. In my first podcast with Stacey back in May, I was surprised to learn that the U.S. is one of the most dangerous countries for women to be pregnant and give birth. I was also surprised to hear how doctors' implicit biases, make this even more true for women of color, even when accounting for income, education and other socio-economic factors.  Our first conversation happened before the murder of George Floyd and all that has followed since. Our national conversation around the BLM movement, implicit bias, systemic racism, white privilege and social justice is very polarized and heated. Many (white) people understandably recoil at the accusation that they are biased or "privileged" when they certainly don't feel that way. So, I wanted to reconnect with Stacey to see if she could help us better understand what implicit bias is, how it affects all of us, and what we can do about it.   Understanding how implicit and systemic bias affects even the most well-meaning doctors-- doctors who have dedicated their lives to serving pregnant women and bringing life into this world-- might make the topic a little less threatening to those of us who don't want to think of ourselves as biased. It can help us come to terms with the fact that we are all biased-- not for the sake of making any of us feel bad, but for the sake of recognizing and overcoming our biases. This is an important conversation. Big thanks to Stacey for sharing so much with us. #EveryMileMatters!