Stereotyping Activity: Why do people stereotype?

Here is an activity you could use during your diversity awareness training.

1. Form groups of 4-6 members. The goal of each group is to brainstorm and come up with a list of gender, culture, and age stereotypes.

2. After 15 minutes, the facilitator will ask all participants to read aloud their lists.

3. A large group discussion will take place. The facilitator will ask the groups to add the total score of their positive and negative stereotypes. The results will show that most of us use negative stereotypes. Here are some questions for the group to discuss: Question 1: Why do people stereotype? Question 2: How could stereotypes harm an organization?

Question 3: What can managers do to eliminate stereotyping from taking place?