Level the Playing Field: Interrupting Gender Bias in Youth Programming
Thursday, March 20, 2025
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM PST
Room: Ballroom B 1
Earn 0.1 CEUs
Session Description: Gender stereotypes are formed early and have profound, lifelong consequences for everyone. Unconscious biases seep into our youth programs, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and limiting opportunities. This session will explore how these biases impact program design, leadership and participant experiences and the unique opportunity we have to make positive change by interrupting them and creating a new normal. By understanding the far-reaching effects of gender bias, we'll identify strategies to create inclusive, equitable, and even life-saving environments for young people. Together, we'll change the status quo and build programs that allow all youth to thrive.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will gain an understanding of when gender stereotypes begin to form and their long-term impact on all genders.
Upon completion, participants will have had the opportunity to take a critical look at their program/department's programming, operations and traditions to understand where gender stereotypes may be unintentionally reinforced.
Upon completion, participants will have learned about, and identified, opportunities to make programmatic shifts to interrupt bias and lift up all genders, in both mixed gender and single gender programs.
