The unconscious mind is amazing. Its ability to process information and create shortcuts based on our backgrounds, experiences, and culture results in almost instantaneous opinions and decisions about the outside world around us.

The problem is that it’s wrong most of the time. In less than 120 milliseconds our brain categorizes a person by race, age, and gender. If this person is like you, your brain will say, “Go ahead, be nice, be empathetic. They are safe.”

If the person is not like you, your brain starts to flash “Warning! Proceed with caution,” in big, bold letters.

This is thanks to the amygdala, the most antiquated part of the brain. This is where our flight-or-fight response lives. Our amygdala’s number-one job is to keep us safe. This stems from our hunting-and-gathering days. The amygdala had to assess situations to ensure the river was safe to cross, to confirm an animal was unsafe, to make sure those berries were safe to eat —it was constantly categorizing.

Today, thanks to our amygdala, we put people in metaphorical boxes before we even get to know them and treat them accordingly. For example, if we were chatting in person, your brain would likely identify me as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, because my gender expression is very masculine, although I identify as female. Your brain would search its filing cabinet labeled “LGBTQIA+,” and whatever messages or experiences you were holding therein, whether positive or negative, would form the basis of how you would interact with me.

This is why it is so important to pay attention to the messages we receive on social media, on TV, and from our family and friends regarding different dimensions of diversity. Often, these messages we hold in our “filing cabinets” are wrong.

Where Do Unconscious Biases Show Up?

Unconscious biases show up everywhere. Regardless of where you are in your inclusion and belonging journey, you will have unconscious biases based on your amygdala’s instantaneous decision-making and categorizing.

You are probably wondering, How do I fix this? I can’t remove my amygdala or rewire my brain. Well, self-awareness is the first step toward combatting your unconscious biases, and helping your team to do the same is equally important.

Camp is a human relations-based industry, giving unconscious bias plenty of opportunity to rear its ugly head — in team leadership, interview and hiring practices, and interactions with staff and campers. Basically, anywhere there is human interaction, there could be an unconscious bias.

Have you ever looked at someone as you walked down the sidewalk and moved to the other side of the street, clenched your bag, or picked up your phone to call someone? Unconscious bias.

So why does this matter in camps and other youth-serving organizations?

Because the outside world remains preoccupied with labels. Think about social media hashtags. These are labels. If you consciously kept count, you would probably be completely surprised at how many times you label something throughout the day.

And labels are typically based on stereotypes. If someone cuts you off while driving, they are a bad driver. If someone is late to a meeting, they are disrespectful. If you make a mistake, you may label yourself dumb.

Labels go beyond who we are as people. Society labels people based on dimensions of diversity — gender, race, age, religion, socioeconomic background — and if we aren’t careful, these labels can hold us back and keep us small.

What do your camp intake registration forms look like? Are you asking families to label themselves or their campers? (The majority of us probably are.) How else might unconscious bias and labeling be sneaking into your camp practices?

Reflection Exercise

“Trusted 10” is an easy self-awareness exercise to mitigate potential unconscious bias that you can do with your teams. Start by listing the top 10 people in your inner circle of trust on a piece of paper, one name per line. Please note that I have done this activity with many professionals, and I want to emphasize that the object of this task is not to make you feel bad or think that you need to find more friends or trusted colleagues. If you don’t have 10, it’s OK. List your top trusted three or five people, who are not part of your family.

Once you finish that, add four columns to the right of your names and title the columns “age,” “gender,” “race,” and “sexual orientation,” respectively. Then put an X by each name in the age column who is in the same age category (within three years) as you. Next put an X next to all those who share your gender. And put Xs by each name in Columns 4 and 5 for those who reflect your race and sexual orientation.

In doing this exercise, most people discover a lack of diversity in their trusted inner circles.

This can result in a lack of diversity of thought and of exposure to different races and cultures. If so, and you are responsible for hiring camp staff, promoting staff, and providing opportunities for members of your trusted inner circle, there will continue to be a lack of opportunity for people who look, think, or act differently than you.

Challenge and Dismantle Unconscious Bias

Again, self-awareness is key. While it can be difficult to hold this mirror up to ourselves, it is a crucial exercise. For once we become self-aware, we will catch ourselves thinking or saying things that continue to feed the unconscious biases in our brain’s filing cabinets.

Here are a few tips to ensure that you and your team are focusing on working to eradicate unconscious biases and embrace each other’s differences:

Slow down decision-making. The world is constantly on fast-forward, and many organizations don’t take the time to recruit a diversity of thought and leaders to sit around the decision-making table. This is integral if an organization wants to continue to evolve. You must have diversity in perspectives when big decisions are being made.

Reconsider reasons for decisions. Are you taking multiple, diverse perspectives into account? What community does your camp serve and will this decision help them?

Question cultural stereotypes. Is your camp making decisions based on cultural stereotypes without someone from those cultures being involved in the conversation?

Create a transparent culture and monitor your team (and yourself) for unconscious bias. My team thrives on transparency and courageous conversations. It is important for your team to know that it’s OK to respectfully question one another. However, if you have staff members who represent marginalized groups, be aware that they may not always want to be the designated spokesperson for their group — and that’s OK too.

A Final Thought

To advance belonging for everyone, we must keep our amygdalae in check, be courageous, and break down barriers to create a solid foundation for future leaders to build upon. It begins with self-awareness, the willingness to be vulnerable, and the courage to challenge yourself and grow.

Bridgette Barbera-Byrne is a dedicated advocate for creating inclusive environments where young people can thrive. Her passion for fostering vulnerability and transparency drives her efforts to empower individuals and communities. Bridgette has worked with individuals all over the globe, speaking to and training individuals and organizations on effective inclusive practices, emphasizing the importance of authentic connections and open dialogue for meaningful change. She is committed to breaking down barriers to ensure that every voice is heard.