Inclusion and the Brain: How Every Protected Characteristic Has a Neural Backstory

Georgina Brown (hershe)
Aug 6
4 min read

Welcome to the neural underpinnings of inclusion — or exclusion, depending on which direction your synapses are firing. If you're looking to embed inclusion in your workplace, we need to go beyond policies and pledges. We need to go right into the brain. Because for every one of the UK's legally protected characteristics — and a few that should be — there are neurobiological dynamics at play.

Brain cell

That means when we exclude, stereotype, or silence someone, it’s not just “bad behaviour.” It’s often a result of unchallenged brain shortcuts — and when we know that, we can rewire them.

Let’s break it down.

1. Age

Neuro-link: The brain creates patterns and expectations. These include assumptions that older people are slower or younger people are inexperienced.
When we get it wrong: Older workers may be excluded from innovation roles. Younger workers dismissed for “not knowing how the world works.”
NeuroNudge: Create intergenerational teams. Mirror neuron activity increases when we collaborate across differences. Repetition + shared goals = rewired respect.

2. Disability

Neuro-link: The brain seeks “normal” based on past experience. Anything outside that can be flagged by the amygdala as “threat” or “other.”
When we get it wrong: People with non-visible disabilities are judged as faking. Neurodivergent colleagues are dismissed as difficult.
NeuroNudge: Share lived experiences. Amygdala responses soften with exposure. Build psychological safety so colleagues feel safe disclosing needs.

3. Gender Reassignment

Neuro-link: Cognitive dissonance occurs when someone doesn’t “match” our binary-based schema. The prefrontal cortex shuts down under discomfort.
When we get it wrong: Trans and non-binary people are misgendered or excluded.
NeuroNudge: Make inclusive language habitual. The brain automates what is repeated. Don’t rely on correction — build the pattern.

4. Marriage and Civil Partnership

Neuro-link: Our brains are wired for social mapping — and often, married = stable = promotable.
When we get it wrong: Single people (especially women) are overlooked for leadership.
NeuroNudge: Check assumptions in performance reviews. Don’t equate relationship status with responsibility or maturity.

5. Pregnancy and Maternity

Neuro-link: Biases form early — including beliefs around caregiving, productivity, and absence.
When we get it wrong: Assumptions about time off, ambition, or capability.
NeuroNudge: Visibility matters. Ensure those on parental leave are still included in major updates. Connection strengthens neural bonds.

6. Race

Neuro-link: The brain recognises facial differences within milliseconds — but cultural narratives shape what those differences mean. If media or history associate threat with skin colour, the amygdala responds before logic can.
When we get it wrong: Racial bias in recruitment, progression, or credibility.
NeuroNudge: Bias interruption training that includes neuroscience helps teams understand why bias happens — and how to outsmart it. Diverse representation in leadership recalibrates neural associations.

7. Religion or Belief

Neuro-link: In-group/out-group bias is ancient. When someone wears visible symbols of faith, it can trigger unfamiliarity and fear in untrained brains.
When we get it wrong: Requests for prayer time or dietary needs are dismissed or joked about.
NeuroNudge: Normalise difference. Rituals and routines increase psychological safety. The more something is seen, the less it triggers.

8. Sex

Neuro-link: Gender schemas are stored in long-term memory. Even if consciously rejected, they influence decision-making in milliseconds.
When we get it wrong: Women interrupted, men assumed leaders. Career progression gaps persist.
NeuroNudge: Interrupt interruptions. Build cues into meetings to notice who gets airtime and who gets credit.

9. Sexual Orientation

Neuro-link: The brain’s mirror neuron system is influenced by early experiences. Lack of exposure to LGBTQIA+ people reduces empathy responses.
When we get it wrong: Colleagues stay closeted for fear of bias or ridicule.
NeuroNudge: Encourage storytelling. Brain scans show increased empathy when we engage with real human narratives.

10. Low Socio-economic Status / Class (Not legally protected, but neurologically real)

Neuro-link: Early adversity changes the developing brain. Chronic stress in childhood affects the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and dopamine regulation.
When we get it wrong: People from working-class backgrounds may struggle with confidence, networking, or may be penalised for different cultural codes.
NeuroNudge: Shift norms. Make unwritten rules explicit. Recognise lived experience as a strength, not a deficit.

11. Accent and Linguistic Bias (Also not a formal protected characteristic, but deeply exclusionary)

Neuro-link: The brain detects difference in voice and speech patterns rapidly. This triggers assumptions about intelligence, trustworthiness, and warmth — often unconsciously.
When we get it wrong: Colleagues with regional or global accents face microaggressions or assumptions.
NeuroNudge: Make space for voice. Celebrate accent diversity. Don’t “correct” people’s expression — expand your brain’s understanding.

Proud to be woke - who wouldn't be proud to be awake?

The Intersectional Layer

Neuroscience doesn’t compartmentalise identities — and neither should we. When someone is, for example, a Black disabled lesbian from a working-class background, their brain carries the cumulative weight of exclusion.

This results in:

Heightened cortisol
Chronic amygdala activation
Reduced dopamine (joy)
Burnout
NeuroNudge: Create low-threat spaces. NIMM’s Community of Practice is built to reduce performance pressure and increase compassion, coaching, and clarity.

So What Does NIMM Actually Do?

NIMM (NeuroInclusive Maturity Model) is designed to:

Interrupt threat responses
Build inclusive habits that stick
Rewire how we see, hear, and value each other

It’s not another workshop. It’s cultural change from the inside out — based on how brains actually work.

Because equity shouldn’t rely on luck. It should be built into our neural and organisational architecture.