Workshop Activity for Gender Equity Simulation (WAGES)

Abstract

Gender bias persists in the workplace, despite many people’s egalitarian intentions. The often unconscious, subtle, and cumulative nature of gender bias makes it difficult to detect and interrupt. Additionally, learning about bias can provoke defensiveness, which thwarts learning goals. In this chapter we describe an evidence-based learning tool designed to overcome these challenges for educating about gender bias in the workplace: Workshop Activity for Gender Equity Simulation (WAGES). WAGES is a board game, followed by facilitated discussion, that demonstrates how gender biases accumulate over time to negatively impact women in the workplace. Drawing from experiential learning theory, WAGES provides participants with a concrete experience on which to reflect via gameplay, so that learning becomes self-generated and meaningful. Our research shows that this approach minimizes defensiveness and leaves participants feeling efficacious in their ability to address bias. Different WAGES versions educate about gender bias in different contexts, including WAGES-Academic for use with faculty and administrators in higher education, WAGES-Business for use in companies, and WAGES-Classroom for use in high school and university classrooms. Across all versions, WAGES offers an effective, accessible, and low-cost intervention tool to educate about and motivate action against the insidious operation of gender bias in the workplace.