Sensitivity Training Course

Lesson 1 • History of Workplace Discrimination

Traces key historical patterns of exclusion that shaped modern workplace norms. Context helps participants understand why sensitivity training is necessary today.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Privilege and Positionality

Examines how social position shapes individual experience and perception. Participants reflect on their own positionality as a starting point for empathy.

Lesson 3 • Defining Diversity and Inclusion

Establishes precise definitions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. These terms anchor all subsequent discussions and prevent miscommunication.

Lesson 1 • Bias in Everyday Communication

Examines how bias surfaces in meetings, emails, and informal conversations. Recognizing these patterns prepares participants for the microaggression chapter ahead.

Lesson 2 • Measuring and Auditing Bias

Introduces methods for detecting bias in organizational data and processes. Participants learn to move from personal reflection to systemic analysis.

Lesson 3 • Bias in Hiring and Promotion

Identifies specific decision points where bias distorts talent processes. Participants connect abstract bias concepts to concrete career-affecting moments.

Lesson 4 • Unconscious Bias Mechanisms

Explains how implicit associations form and operate below conscious awareness. Participants learn why good intentions do not prevent biased outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Cumulative Impact on Targets

Examines psychological, physiological, and professional consequences of repeated microaggressions. Participants understand why frequency amplifies harm beyond any single incident.

Lesson 2 • Common Microaggression Patterns

Catalogs frequently occurring microaggressions across race, gender, disability, and other identities. Pattern recognition is the first step toward behavioral change.

Lesson 3 • What Microaggressions Are

Provides a rigorous definition and taxonomy of microaggressions, microinsults, and microinvalidations. Clear classification prevents dismissal of real harm.

Lesson 1 • Inclusive Language Fundamentals

Covers person-first language, gender-neutral terms, and avoiding exclusionary idioms. Participants build a practical vocabulary for respectful daily communication.

Lesson 2 • Active and Empathic Listening

Develops listening skills that signal genuine respect and reduce misunderstanding. Empathic listening is foundational to all inclusive interaction.

Lesson 3 • Written Communication and Inclusive Tone

Applies inclusive language principles to emails, reports, and digital messages. Written communication often reaches wider audiences and carries lasting impact.

Lesson 4 • Non-Verbal and Environmental Signals

Examines how body language, space, and visual cues communicate inclusion or exclusion. Participants align their non-verbal behavior with their inclusive intentions.

Lesson 1 • Frameworks for Structured Dialogue

Introduces conversation models that balance honesty with psychological safety. Structured frameworks prevent conversations from derailing into defensiveness.

Lesson 2 • Preparing for Difficult Dialogues

Covers mindset, emotional regulation, and logistical preparation before a sensitive conversation. Preparation reduces reactivity and increases productive outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Documenting and Following Up

Establishes practices for recording outcomes and ensuring accountability after sensitive conversations. Follow-up transforms dialogue into lasting behavioral change.

Lesson 4 • Cross-Cultural Communication Nuances

Addresses how cultural background shapes communication style, directness, and conflict norms. Participants adapt their approach without stereotyping individuals.

Lesson 1 • Intervention Strategies and Tactics

Presents the four Ds of intervention: direct, distract, delegate, and delay. Participants select tactics matched to situation severity and their own comfort level.

Lesson 2 • Understanding the Bystander Effect

Explains the psychological mechanisms that inhibit intervention in group settings. Awareness of these mechanisms is the prerequisite for overcoming them.

Lesson 3 • Allyship Beyond Performative Gestures

Distinguishes genuine allyship from symbolic actions that center the ally rather than the marginalized person. Participants commit to sustained, accountable advocacy.

Lesson 1 • Equitable Performance Management

Identifies and corrects bias in goal-setting, feedback, and evaluation processes. Fair performance systems are essential for equitable career advancement.

Lesson 2 • Inclusive Hiring and Onboarding

Redesigns talent acquisition and onboarding to reduce bias and signal belonging from day one. Inclusive entry points set the tone for long-term retention.

Lesson 3 • Employee Resource Groups and Affinity Networks

Explains the role, structure, and organizational support needed for effective employee resource groups. These groups are key drivers of bottom-up cultural change.

Lesson 4 • Psychological Safety in Teams

Examines the conditions that allow team members to speak up, take risks, and be authentic. Psychological safety is the measurable outcome of inclusive team culture.

Lesson 1 • Personal Leadership Commitment Plan

Guides leaders through creating an individual action plan with specific, time-bound inclusion commitments. Personal plans convert course learning into on-the-job behavior change.

Lesson 2 • Integrating Inclusion into Business Strategy

Connects diversity and inclusion outcomes to innovation, retention, and market performance. Strategic framing secures sustained executive investment in inclusion work.

Lesson 3 • Setting and Tracking Inclusion Goals

Teaches leaders to set specific, measurable inclusion objectives tied to business outcomes. Goal-setting without measurement produces activity, not progress.

Lesson 4 • Handling Complaints and Misconduct

Equips leaders with a fair, trauma-informed process for responding to discrimination and harassment reports. Proper handling protects individuals and organizational integrity.