Earlier this week, I read an interesting Forbes article “ The Microaggressions Towards Black Women You Might Be Complicit In At Work” by Bianca Barrett that discusses the complicit behaviors white co-workers perpetuate on black employees, most notably black women. For those that may not be aware, microaggressions are insensitive behavior, comments most notably in the workplace that is racial, generally negative, and prejudicial. As I read over some of the examples given, I couldn’t help but reflect that majority of the professional positions I’ve held, I’ve experienced various degrees of microaggressions or prejudicial comments in the workplace. Below are my top three tips that can help you through the experience.
Be clear about the different elements of a microaggression.
Before deciding on the layer of microaggression you are experiencing, think about the context. For instance, Who said what? Was this the first time or is this an ongoing issue? What is the relationship between you and the person? Having a clear understanding of the factors that surrounded the microaggression helps evaluate next steps strategically rather than emotionally.
Decide How You Want to Address the Incident.
In some instances, you may feel it would be best to provide your colleague with a snide comment, have a separate, private conversation, or say nothing at all. Knowing this, you have to decide when and to what degree you want to handle the situation.
Continue to Use Your Voice.
I think this is the most important tip for me. I think the purpose of microaggressions is to slowly cause you to lose your power and ultimately your voice. There were times I felt like I was silencing my own opinions and feedback for projects because it wasn’t well-received in the room. There were times where I had a really good idea, and two minutes later, my white, male co-worker would express my same sentiments, only to be met with praise, not “quietness” as I experienced. When I shared my frustration with my mentors (two of my favorites are black women in senior policy positions) they reminded me to continue to speak up. Ultimately, I did and it helped me to become a better professional as a result. My valuable lesson in this is that I didn’t need their validation or praise in order to share my feedback. I needed to share my ideas because I am a smart, invaluable member of the team with A LOT to say.
While I hope that through the recent racial awakening the nation has experienced will cause microaggressions to lessen (wishful thinking), I do think it’s important not to ignore important signs and your intuition. Should you find yourself in any of the situations mentioned, you will at least have some helpful tips to help navigate you through the process. If you are interested in learning more about various responses, I came across this in-depth guide for responding to microaggressions here and this recent article by Professors Ella F. Washington, Alison Hall Birch, and Laura Morgan Roberts (phenomenal BLACK women by the way) in the Harvard Business Review here. If you know of any other tips or resources, please share them in the comments below!
