Starbucks closed 8,000 company-owned USA stores at around 2 pm local time on May 29 as a first step in training 175,000 employees on racial tolerance.
“We understand that racial and systemic bias have many causes, sources, and ways of showing up within each of us and in our communities”, says one of the training videos from the preview.
According to the Perception Institute, the consultants who helped design the training, unconscious bias refers to the attitudes – both positive and negative – that people can have towards others without knowing it.
On April 12, two black men went to a Philadelphia store and did not buy anything; instead, they told the store manager they were waiting for a friend to join them. Employees will talk about their own experiences and watch a film about bias, the company announced.
Some large retailers, including Walmart and Target, say they already offer some form of unconscious bias training. “This isn’t just a Starbucks problem – this is an American problem”, McGhee said on a conference call to discuss the training.
Source: WSJ
