Sway

Unravelling Unconscious Bias

By: Pragya Agarwal

Narrated by: Aysha Kala

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Sway by Pragya Agarwal, read by Aysha Kala.

Included in Stylist Magazine's Guide to 2020's Best Non-Fiction Books.

One of The Bookseller's Editor's Choice picks for April 2020.

Have you ever been told to smile more, been teased about your accent or had your name pronounced incorrectly? If so, you’ve probably already faced bias in your everyday life.

We like to believe that we are all fair-minded and egalitarian, but we all carry biases that we might not even be aware of. We might believe that we live in a post-racial society, but racial tension and inequality is pernicious and pervasive. We might believe that gender inequality is a thing of the past, but it is still ubiquitous.

Unconscious bias has become a frequently used term in our vocabulary, but there are still so many myths around it. For the first time, behavioural scientist, activist and writer Dr Pragya Agarwal unravels the way our implicit or ‘unintentional’ biases affect the way we communicate and perceive the world and how they affect our decision-making, even in life-and-death situations. She takes a unique inter-disciplinary approach combining case studies, personal experience, interviews and real world stories underpinned by scientific theories and research. She covers a wide range of implicit biases in depth, including age-ism, appearance, accents, sexism and aversive racism. Throughout, Pragya answers questions such as: do our roots for prejudice lie in our evolutionary past? What happens in our brains when our biases are activated? How has bias affected technology? If we don’t know about it, are we really responsible for it?

At a time when partisan political ideologies are taking centre stage and we struggle to make sense of who we are and who we want to be, it is crucial that we understand why we act the way we do. This audiobook will enable you to reflect and consider the forces that shape us all, opening your eyes to your own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way.

©2020 Pragya Agarwal (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"An important look at one of the issues facing Western society today. This book exposes the insidiousness of unconscious bias and offers us a way to change the way we think that is practical, useful, readable and essential for the times we are living in. You need to read this book and think about the way you live and how you view others." (Nikesh Shukla, author and editor of The Good Immigrant, screenwriter and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature)

"If you think you don't need to read this book, you really need to read this book." (Jane Garvey, presenter, BBC Radio 4)

"An exhaustive, brilliantly researched survey of bias and how it seeps so easily into our everyday thoughts and actions. An eye-opening book that I hope will be widely read." (Angela Saini, science journalist and author of Superior and Inferior)

one of the most important books I've ever read.

this is a book that should be required listening or reading for everyone on the planet. we are all biased, every one of us. the science and data shared in this book provide plenty of proof. it's up to us to accept that and to work within that system to improve it. denial of the facts is a chronic condition in our society. we need to accept these implicit biases or else we cannot move forward as a species.

Ok

The book started off great and ended weak. Overall it was ok. I felt like she could have done a better job digging deeper down into each bias. She just skimmed the top

We are all biased and have to dig deeper to get better

A wonderful exhaustive book about the research behind unconscious bias. We have so much work ahead of us. Recommended for anyone who es ya to understand implicit bias more. Would have liked more info at the end about tips to deal with the biases.

good review

If you are unfamiliar with the literature on unconscious bias, this is an excellent resource.

The most influential book ever ! I go through it again and again.

This book made me aware of my Owen biases as well as biases of any given society where one lives in. A must read for every one.