The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) in partnership with Improvement East invite you to explore Shades of Bias (SoB). Shades of Bias is a versatile case study template designed to enable critical reflection on how discrimination, oppression and racism manifests in social work and beyond. It is a simple process for documenting, analysing and addressing instances of bias, whether it is experienced directly, observed or perpetrated (by the person/people responsible). SoB embraces intersectionality and is underpinned by the protected characteristics (age, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc) of the author (as per the Equality Act 2010).
Shades of Bias serves three different groups: victim/survivor of discrimination/oppression/racism, witnesses and observers, and person/people responsible for the bias. It also:
• Provides a structured, non-punitive approach that supports individuals to take responsibility, learn, and commit to anti-discriminatory, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive practice;
• Promotes reflection and learning, enabling a shift from individual incidents to a deeper understanding of systemic patterns; and
• Offers a practical and accessible way to embed ethical, inclusive practice, supporting healing, accountability, and systemic change.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
This session will introduce the Shades of Bias approach and explore how it can be used to:
• Support individuals, teams and organisations to process and articulate experiences of discrimination
• Enable practitioners to recognise and challenge bias and discrimination
• Provide a structured approach to reflection, accountability and growth
• Contribute to organisational learning and systemic change
This session will include practical examples, guided reflection, and opportunities for discussion on how the framework can be applied in your own context.
PRESENTERS
Chair: Gemma Coxon (Improvement East Project Lead (Children’s Services) – Eastern Region)
Wayne Reid is a Professional Officer, Social Worker and former Anti-racism Visionary at BASW England. He qualified as a Social Worker in 2010 and his social care experience spans over 26 years. Wayne has worked for private fostering agencies; the Probation Service; a youth offending team; a community mental health service; a child protection service and with care leavers. Wayne previously compiled and curated a national social work newsletter (Wayne’s Weekly), which ran for several years.
Amos Okafor (Service Manager Quality Assurance and Safeguarding – Thurrock Council)
Abraham Eshetu (Strategic Lead for Equity and Practice Innovation – Norfolk County Council)
Sylwia Przybylek (Practice Lead – Southend Social Care Academy)
WHO’S IT FOR?
Social workers, practice educators, managers, students, and anyone committed to advancing anti-discriminatory, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive practice in social work and related fields.