The online test, which Forest Management Director Bryan Rice urged other agency directors to use as well, specifically warns of problems when it is taken "outside of the safeguards of a research institution." Users also are told to be careful about how far to go in interpreting the results.
Mr. Rice, in a March 11 email to his employees, also instructed them to read a New York Times piece titled "Straight talk for white men," which argues that white men benefit from unconscious bias. He also shared a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that shows managers are more likely to hire those with a "very white sounding name" over those with a "very African American sounding name."
In an email to The Washington Times, Mr. Rice said he believed the tests would help build a better workplace for his team.
"The intent of using the unconscious bias material is to assist with efforts to foster a work environment where everyone is respected and valued," he said. "The unconscious bias material can help us explore diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It was included in a discussion of diversity as part of a continuous series of collaborative discussions on a variety of topics we have on my staff that cover key Forest Service policies and values as a means of fostering continued awareness."
Mr. Rice did not respond to questions about which tests he took, nor what biases were exposed by those assessments.