The City of Allentown is launching a very important training program called “Understanding Unconscious Bias” for every supervisory staff member.

Mayor Ray O’Connell said, “Recent tensions in our country have sparked the need for workplaces to examine their practices and policies to ensure they are equitable and promote an inclusive environment for all employees. The city will benefit from this training and hopefully improve the working environment from directors down through all members of the staff.”

Multiple studies have uncovered differences in the way people experience work life. The City of Allentown is committed to being an inclusive workplace, free of bias towards anyone for any reason, regardless of age, gender, race, creed, ethnicity, disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, or sexual orientation.

City Human Resources Director Meloney Sallie-Dosunmu said, “Human beings are inherently biased. We must become deliberate about identifying, facing, and eliminating bias if we are going to be a society that truly delivers on the promise of equality. I am glad to be a part of Mayor O’Connell’s initiative to get every manager, and eventually every employee trained to recognize and combat unconscious bias. This is a giant step in making our city a better place for every employee and every citizen.”

By the end of 2021, everyone in a supervisory position will attend this session and learn to recognize and eliminate unconscious bias within themselves and others. This is a big step toward becoming a more inclusive workplace for everyone.

The training will begin on Friday, May 14. Department directors will be assigning 162 members of supervisory staff to attend a session before the end of the year.

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