Unconscious Bias: What You Need to Know
Unconscious bias is rooted in information stored in the brain over many years, overcoming it starts with retraining your mind.
INCLUSION
Dania Santana
When I first moved to New York City over a decade ago, I didn’t know anything about unconscious bias. Because of that, my own prejudices were hidden from me. For example, I would get upset when people mistook me for another nationality instead of Dominican. My reaction was, “Of course not!”—a response shaped by stereotypical images of that group in my mind. I wanted nothing to do with them because I didn’t see myself as one of them.
I’m grateful that I eventually learned about unconscious bias—why we have it, how it works, and most importantly, how awareness can help us begin to change and retrain our minds. That awareness allows us to show more compassion, empathy, and kindness toward others.
The most important thing to understand about unconscious bias is that we all have it. Yes, I still do. Awareness alone doesn’t make bias disappear. However, recognizing it is the first step toward reducing its impact. From there, we can begin the ongoing process of unlearning patterns that took years to form.
According to Merriam-Webster, the unconscious is “the part of mental life that does not ordinarily enter the individual’s awareness yet may influence behavior and perception or be revealed (as in slips of the tongue or in dreams).” Bias is defined as “a settled and often prejudiced outlook.”
Taken together, unconscious bias refers to the beliefs, assumptions, and reactions we hold about others—shaped by past experiences and learned messages from parents, teachers, and our environment. These biases operate automatically, leading us to make judgments without conscious reflection.
How to Combat Unconscious Bias
When I talk about unconscious bias, I often see confusion on people’s faces and hear questions about what feels like an impossible task: identifying something that happens outside our awareness. After all, if we’re unaware of these biases, how can we be held responsible? And how do we stop something that happens automatically?
If you’ve asked yourself these questions, you’re not alone. But here’s the truth: change is possible. It won’t happen overnight, but you can learn to interrupt and shift your patterns.
Because unconscious bias is rooted in information stored in the brain over many years, overcoming it starts with retraining your mind with new, more accurate information. For example, if you were taught that “women belong in the home and men work outside of it,” but you’ve built a successful, high-paying career, you might still feel conflicted about a partner taking on a more traditional caregiving role. That tension is worth examining. Compare what you were taught with what you now know through your lived experience, and challenge beliefs that no longer serve you.
This process may sound simple, but it is powerful when practiced consistently. Although the brain is an organ, research shows it can function much like a muscle—capable of growth and change through repetition. The more you reinforce new ways of thinking, the more your responses begin to shift.
Once you understand unconscious bias, the next step is identifying your own. A helpful starting point is the assessment developed by psychologists at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington.
This tool, part of Project Implicit, is an international research collaboration focused on implicit social cognition. Its goal is to educate the public about hidden biases while also serving as a virtual laboratory for ongoing research. The platform offers a range of tests exploring bias related to race, gender, sexuality, age, weight, and more.
Beyond formal tools, we can practice awareness in everyday moments. When you catch yourself making a snap judgment, pause. Reflect on your reaction. Revisit situations and ask yourself honest questions about where your assumptions come from. That kind of intentional reflection is where real change begins.
There’s no quick fix for eliminating unconscious bias. But if we want to improve how we relate to others, prepare ourselves for a global society, and raise children who are more understanding and less driven by stereotypes, we have to commit to doing the work.
Have you identified your own biases? I’d love to hear what you do to challenge them.
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