21st Century Racism in the Workplace
As a child, my father used to tell me stories about working in the South. He described the segregation he witnessed, how white and black people used different bathrooms and drank from different water fountains, simply because of the color of their skin. Although we have progressed, racism is still alive and well in today’s society. Over the past several decades, racism has morphed and changed from an overt phenomenon and experience to one that is more subtle and covert.
Racist actions have perpetuated over the past century and our society has transformed from expressing overt to covert racism. In the pre-1960s, many socialized in a time in which their ancestors owned slaves, where it was perfectly acceptable to harbor racist sentiments in many parts of the country. Being an abolitionist or expressing views of racial equality was outside of the norm and many white people believed they were better, smarter, and owed all the benefits society had to offer. As the Civil Rights Movement took root in the 1960s, those in power felt threatened, feared their rights and benefits would be taken away, causing them to lash out and harm those they deemed less deserving. During the 1970s and 1980s, the expectation for racial equality became prevalent and it was socially unacceptable for those with racist views to express their thoughts publicly - however many continued to harbor feelings of racial superiority privately. Even in the present day, old feelings of superiority and distinctiveness have leaked out into everyday life in a more subtle way, still signalling to people of color that they are different and somehow less deserving of achievement.
Many of these underlying feelings of racism are present in today’s workplace, known as racial microaggressions or “brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities and denigrating messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned white people who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated”. These messages can be spoken to a person of color ("Your English is so good!"), they can be communicated nonverbally (a white woman moving to the other side of the street when a black man approaches) or symbolically (an American Indian mascot or costumes). The impact and overt nature of microaggressions can also vary. From a recognizable “microassault” in which a racial slur is uttered, to more ambiguous and confusing messages, like asking where a person of color is from that implies that they are constantly foreigners. While some of these messages may seem harmless or perhaps even outside the level of conscious awareness, they cause pain and confusion in the minds of many people of color and can hinder efforts to succeed in the workplace.
Racial microaggressions have many negative and dire consequences for people of color. They wreck havoc on the mental health of individuals, create physical health problems, as well as enable cues in broader society that devaluation of a social group is acceptable. In the workplace, microaggressions toward minorities have been found to create a hostile and demeaning work climate. They also perpetuate stereotype threat, which is a phenomenon in which stereotyped groups fear confirming a stereotype about their group and in the process they may actually end up confirming it because of diminished cognitive resources as a result of anxiety. Furthermore, workplace research has demonstrated that microaggressions decrease productivity and hijack the problem solving process presumably because cognitive resources are instead spent dwelling on the ambiguity of the nature of threat.
Examples of microaggressions are perpetuated on the news and in our society on a daily basis. From the blatant racism of Donald Sterling and Richie Incognito, to the subtle microaggressions that occur every day, a message is conveyed that these feelings are somehow acceptable. A personal example was encountered at a position in a male-dominant, mostly white industry. With a workforce consisting of 200 people, only two black males comprised the company’s “diversity.” On a daily basis, many other white colleagues confused the two black men with each other, both verbal and in written communication. While many of our colleagues surely did not intend to do this, it illustrated a rather embarrassing trait among white individuals who could not distinguish one person of color from another, even though the black colleagues had vastly different skills, abilities and job responsibilities. It conveyed an insulting messages that all black employees at this company were the same.
It is important to become aware of subtle racism that occurs everyday, because many microaggressions occur without consciousness awareness. I’ve compiled a short list of things to keep in mind during interactions with people from different races and ethnicities, to help our society learn and grow.
1. Identifying and Acknowledging Mistakes
It can be hard admitting you’ve made a mistake, but a genuine apology may create create a stronger relationship and help to break down racial barriers and tension. A statement such as “I am so sorry, that was a really stupid mistake” can go a long way, even if it causes feelings of embarrassment.
2. Creating Open and Honest Conversation
In communications with people of color, identifying inappropriate or ambiguous comments can help to open up and create authentic conversation. While conversations about race with people of are different ethnicities is uncomfortable, confronting it head-on could create authentic, meaningful conversations. It may even lead to stronger relationships and provide opportunities to speak openly about future racially ambiguous occurrences.
3. Sharing the “Wealth”
Due to institutional and systemic factors like access to better schools and jobs, white people are usually awarded and given things that people of color are not. Being aware of wealth or educational differences can sometimes lead to defensiveness or a sense of entitlement. A better approach may be to share this “wealth” with others. This “wealth” is largely symbolic and intangible, such as assumptions and stereotypes we hold about people who are different from us. Yes, many people of color have had different experiences and are truly different. However, we, as a society, need to get to a point where we can all talk about this with each other openly and in a way that respects differences so that some of these pernicious barriers can be torn asunder.
Racial tensions have been in play for hundreds of years and unfortunately we do not live in a society that implicitly considers all people as equals. Thankfully, the physical aggression and assault toward people of color during the pre-Civil Rights Movement era is largely over, but we still have work to do. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said it well in a TIME Magazine article: “It's time to look at ourselves — and our collective moral outrage — in the mirror …. We need to be inspired to vigilantly seek out, expose, and eliminate racism at its first signs.” The time is now to begin making small changes. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes that others may perceive as racist or offensive. But, we are all in this together. If awareness about racial microaggressions is increased, more people will recognize how they contribute to the problem and work to change these behaviors. In turn, race relations in our society as a whole will improve for the better.
Selected references:
Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A Model Of (often Mixed) Stereotype Content: Competence And Warmth Respectively Follow From Perceived Status And Competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878-902.
Sue, D. (2010). Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life. Psychology Today. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201010/racial-microaggressions-in-everyday-life
Nigatu, H. (2013). 21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On A Daily Basis. BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/racial-microagressions-you-hear-on-a-daily-basis