Dr Pragya Agarwal is a behavioural and data scientist, and a freelance journalist. As a Senior Academic in US and UK Universities, she held the prestigious Leverhulme Fellowship, following a PhD from the University of Nottingham. She is a two-time TEDx speaker, winner of Diverse Wisdom award from Hay House, and was named as one of the 100 influential women in social enterprise in the UK, and one of 50 people creating change in the UK-India corridor on the High and Mighty list. @DrPragyaAgarwal
Agarwal's diagnosis of the political harms of bias is passionate and urgent. * Guardian * Fascinating, sometimes challenging, read, for fans of Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women and Angela Saini's Superior. * BBC Science Focus * A well-researched and cogent work. It accessibly reveals the insidious nature of stereotyping and does much to encourage readers to examine - and take responsibility for - their own implicit biases. * Publishers Weekly * A serious exploration of the neuroscience and psychology of bias. Solid, definitely-not-dumbed-down popular science. * Kirkus Reviews * If you think you don't need to read this book, you really need to read this book. -- Jane Garvey, presenter, BBC Radio 4 An important look at one of the issues facing Western society today. This book exposes the insidiousness of unconscious bias and offers us a way to change the way we think that is practical, useful, readable and essential for the times we are living in. You need to read this book and think about the way you live and how you view others. -- Nikesh Shukla, author and editor of The Good Immigrant, screenwriter and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature An exhaustive, brilliantly researched survey of bias and how it seeps so easily into our everyday thoughts and actions, from gender essentialism to casual racism. Calmly and without polemic, Agarwal explains why we all need to work harder to avoid lazy prejudice and simplistic narratives if we are to build a fairer society. An eye-opening book that I hope will be widely read. -- Angela Saini, science journalist and author of Superior and Inferior This indispensable book takes us into our own minds and helps us understand why we believe what we believe and how we can confront ourselves with not just an understanding of other people, but who we are too. A book that is challenging, fascinating and useful, and if we take notice, a book that could make us better people. -- Robin Ince, comedian, writer and broadcaster Approaching the contentious issue of social bias with nuance and a broad range of exhaustive research, behavioural scientist, activist and writer, Agarwal demonstrates how unconscious prejudice is still immensely prevalent in contemporary society. Cogently argued and intensely persuasive, Sway is an enlightening account of how entrenched sets of stereotypes have become. * Waterstones * Scrupulously researched, engagingly written, and searingly relevant. -- Caroline Sanderson, editor at The Bookseller This book is totally fascinating and a reminder that we are all complex creatures with multiple layers. This book is vital reading, eye-opening and a helping hand to arm ourselves with the knowledge to be and do better. -- Emma Gannon, writer, podcast host and author of The Multi-Hyphen Method