This interactive workshop takes the guesswork out of identifying and confronting gender bias. Employees consider real-world scenarios and get concrete recommendations for what to do or say in the moment.
Free, ready-to-use resources and moderator training, flexible for your goals or team size.
Research-backed exercises
Practical ways to respond to bias in the moment.
Real-life scenarios
100+ relatable situations that make bias easier to recognize.
Active participation
Employees practice real responses, building the confidence to act and create lasting change.
A closer look at the materials
Each card presents a real-world scenario, explains the bias behind it, and offers practical ways to respond.
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
You’re in a meeting to discuss performance reviews and notice that men are described as “strategic” and “visionary,” while women are “hard workers” or “good team players."
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
WHY IT MATTERS
How we describe people matters—and can unfairly influence performance reviews. In this situation, it’s not hard to imagine men getting the inside track on promotions and raises.
WHAT TO DO
Point out the pattern and explain why it matters.
Talk to HR about creating a leadership checklist with concrete examples of what they look like in practice.
Situation
Hiring
A colleague advocates for a man with strong potential over a woman with proven experience.
Situation
Hiring
WHY IT MATTERS
When a more experienced candidate is passed up in favor of someone with less experience, your company can miss out on valuable wisdom, talent, and skill.
WHAT TO DO
In the moment: Point out the candidates’s experience and note the value of proven experience over potential.
Longer term: Recommend that everyone on your team aligns ahead of time on clear, objective criteria for open roles, then uses them to evaluate all job candidates.
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
You’re in a meeting to discuss performance reviews and notice that men are described as “strategic” and “visionary,” while women are “hard workers” or “good team players."
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
WHY IT MATTERS
How we describe people matters—and can unfairly influence performance reviews. In this situation, it’s not hard to imagine men getting the inside track on promotions and raises.
WHAT TO DO
Point out the pattern and explain why it matters.
Talk to HR about creating a leadership checklist with concrete examples of what they look like in practice.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
You realize that a colleague who is a man only mentors other men.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
WHY IT MATTERS
We all benefit when a colleague shows us the ropes or sponsors us for new opportunities—particularly when that colleague is more senior.
WHAT TO DO
Talk to your colleague. Explain why mentoring is so valuable and recommend he mentor at least one woman. Offer to help him identify a few promising candidates.
If he confides he’s uncomfortable being alone with women, point out that there are plenty of public places to meet.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
You realize that a colleague who is a man only mentors other men.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
WHY IT MATTERS
We all benefit when a colleague shows us the ropes or sponsors us for new opportunities—particularly when that colleague is more senior.
WHAT TO DO
Talk to your colleague. Explain why mentoring is so valuable and recommend he mentor at least one woman. Offer to help him identify a few promising candidates.
If he confides he’s uncomfortable being alone with women, point out that there are plenty of public places to meet.
Situation
Hiring
A colleague advocates for a man with strong potential over a woman with proven experience.
Situation
Hiring
WHY IT MATTERS
When a more experienced candidate is passed up in favor of someone with less experience, your company can miss out on valuable wisdom, talent, and skill.
WHAT TO DO
In the moment: Point out the candidates’s experience and note the value of proven experience over potential.
Longer term: Recommend that everyone on your team aligns ahead of time on clear, objective criteria for open roles, then uses them to evaluate all job candidates.
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
You’re in a meeting to discuss performance reviews and notice that men are described as “strategic” and “visionary,” while women are “hard workers” or “good team players."
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
WHY IT MATTERS
How we describe people matters—and can unfairly influence performance reviews. In this situation, it’s not hard to imagine men getting the inside track on promotions and raises.
WHAT TO DO
Point out the pattern and explain why it matters.
Talk to HR about creating a leadership checklist with concrete examples of what they look like in practice.
Situation
Hiring
A colleague advocates for a man with strong potential over a woman with proven experience.
Situation
Hiring
WHY IT MATTERS
When a more experienced candidate is passed up in favor of someone with less experience, your company can miss out on valuable wisdom, talent, and skill.
WHAT TO DO
In the moment: Point out the candidates’s experience and note the value of proven experience over potential.
Longer term: Recommend that everyone on your team aligns ahead of time on clear, objective criteria for open roles, then uses them to evaluate all job candidates.
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
You’re in a meeting to discuss performance reviews and notice that men are described as “strategic” and “visionary,” while women are “hard workers” or “good team players."
Situation
Reviews and Promotions
WHY IT MATTERS
How we describe people matters—and can unfairly influence performance reviews. In this situation, it’s not hard to imagine men getting the inside track on promotions and raises.
WHAT TO DO
Point out the pattern and explain why it matters.
Talk to HR about creating a leadership checklist with concrete examples of what they look like in practice.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
You realize that a colleague who is a man only mentors other men.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
WHY IT MATTERS
We all benefit when a colleague shows us the ropes or sponsors us for new opportunities—particularly when that colleague is more senior.
WHAT TO DO
Talk to your colleague. Explain why mentoring is so valuable and recommend he mentor at least one woman. Offer to help him identify a few promising candidates.
If he confides he’s uncomfortable being alone with women, point out that there are plenty of public places to meet.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
You realize that a colleague who is a man only mentors other men.
Situation
Mentorship & Sponsorship
WHY IT MATTERS
We all benefit when a colleague shows us the ropes or sponsors us for new opportunities—particularly when that colleague is more senior.
WHAT TO DO
Talk to your colleague. Explain why mentoring is so valuable and recommend he mentor at least one woman. Offer to help him identify a few promising candidates.
If he confides he’s uncomfortable being alone with women, point out that there are plenty of public places to meet.
Situation
Hiring
A colleague advocates for a man with strong potential over a woman with proven experience.
Situation
Hiring
WHY IT MATTERS
When a more experienced candidate is passed up in favor of someone with less experience, your company can miss out on valuable wisdom, talent, and skill.
WHAT TO DO
In the moment: Point out the candidates’s experience and note the value of proven experience over potential.
Longer term: Recommend that everyone on your team aligns ahead of time on clear, objective criteria for open roles, then uses them to evaluate all job candidates.
Showing card 1 of 6
What happens in a 50 Ways workshop?
Bias recognition
Active participation
Curated conversations
Bias recognition
A short video introduces five common types of bias women face at work and builds a shared language for participants. The workshop then uses relatable scenarios to help participants recognize bias in everyday situations.
96%
of managers feel better equipped to talk to their teams about bias after this workshop
95%
of participants are more committed to challenging unfair behaviors
90%
of participants say they know what to do when they see bias in action
Used by thousands of companies
“When I introduced the 50 Ways to Fight Bias program to my sales team, I was blown away by the level of engagement and the quality of conversations from all levels within the department.”
John Schoenstein
Chief Sales Officer, Momentive
“We wanted managers to feel empowered to discuss and address bias with their teams. 50 Ways helped our people feel like they could bring their full, authentic selves to work.”
Darren Hart
CHRO, Fossil Group
Customize the program to your needs
Interactive workshop
In-person or virtual sessions for large groups. Use breakout rooms for learning and discussion.
Weekly practice
Managers discuss 1–2 scenarios at regular meetings or team lunches.
Manager training
Give leaders the skills they need to eliminate bias in their interactions with their team.
Hiring and promotions
Combat biases in committee decision-making during review processes.
Virtual and On Demand
Upcoming events
Join virtual and in-person sessions to learn how Lean In programs can support your employees and strengthen workplace culture. Get practical guidance on launching Circles, engaging participants, and bringing research-backed solutions to your organization.
Frequently asked questions about 50 Ways to Fight Bias
50 Ways to Fight Bias is an interactive workshop that helps employees recognize and address unfair treatment at work, with a focus on gender bias. Participants use real-world scenarios and research-backed strategies to respond to bias in the moment.
This workshop is designed for all employees, including managers and individual contributors. It’s especially valuable for teams looking to build healthier workplaces, strengthen allyship, and support employee advancement.
Participants learn how to identify common types of workplace bias and take practical action to address them. Through guided discussions and scenario-based exercises, they build skills to speak up, support others, and create stronger, more fair team environments.
The workshop can be delivered in-person or virtually using digital tools and scenario-based card decks. It includes interactive exercises and small group discussions, to encourage participation and real-world application.
Companies can access Lean In’s free workshop materials and toolkits on LeanIn.org. These resources make it easy to run sessions internally and customize them for your organization’s goals and team size. We also offer free training to help your team run a successful session.
The workshop is designed to be flexible and can be run with small groups or scaled across an entire organization. Many companies split larger groups into smaller breakout rooms to encourage discussion and individual participation.
The 50 Ways to Fight Bias workshop materials are available in multiple languages, including Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Lean In is open to partnering with organizations interested in translating into additional languages to support global teams.
Yes. The workshop is designed to complement and strengthen your existing efforts. While many initiatives address bias broadly, 50 Ways focuses primarily on gender bias. Organizations often pair it with Lean In Circles, ERG programming, or broader leadership development initiatives.
