The Bias in “Best of” Lists
Bias can show up in many ways, even when we look at things that are seemingly innocuous. I got to thinking-what about the “top” or “best” lists across industries. From “10 best cities to live” or “10 best colleges,” these lists determine elite towns, restaurants, and more. Though one might think that these lists don’t matter much; however they do. When we see certain trends over and over, unwittingly, we start to believe.
But who is left out of these lists? And why?
A few things I thought about:
- Parameters-what are the metrics for determining these lists and how is an inclusive lens brought in? For example, can a town be “best” if they have extremely low percentages of immigrants or people of color? Is socioeconomic status a big factor for determining being on the list (money isn’t the only thing that makes a neighborhood matter.)
- Judges-who is in the room creating these lists? Does anyone have a background in DEI practices? If not, how can these actually bring in multiple perspectives and voices? What percentage of these lists are written by women, people with disabilities, older citizens?
- Representation-if a school has low percentages of underrepresented students, teachers and administrators, or if there has been a history of disappointment over the school’s dealings with topics of equity and justice, how is this measured?
Example:
These colleges are deemed best by a certain report. All but 1 are in the “Ivy+” the extended community of elite, ivy league colleges. What is the demographic makeup of these schools? Do only photos of a legacy of white male leaders line the walls? How many students see teachers that look like them every day? Has the school atoned for historical inequities?
Austin was an example of the best city to live on a recent list. Austin has a history of gentrification, and a low percentage of Black citizens. Though there are incredible things about Austin. At a popular college in Austin, the faculty was just 5.9 percent Latino (and just 3.7 percent African American). Hispanic/Latinx citizens make up over 33% of residents.
The next on the list was Denver, CO. Again, a city with many beautiful and unique traits, but the majority of the population is white (2010 census the Denver is 68.9% white.) How many of these lists take that into account?
I encourage us all to think about what “best” means, and more importantly, who deems cities, schools, restaurants “best” and why. Who gets to decide? Is there coded language here? Who have they excluded? Continue to question. Continue to ask “who else?”