Subtle Acts of Exclusion, or Microaggressions, and the Real Toll of Unconscious Bias
As we strive to become a school where everyone can enjoy a sense of not just welcoming, but belonging, we need to reckon with the subtle acts of exclusion, that are commonly called, microaggressions. These subtle acts are often unintentional, but their impacts are real and lasting. Ella Washington, an organizational psychologist and CEO of a DEI strategy firm, gives us a great roadmap forward in her article for the Harvard Business Review, Recognizing and Responding to MicroAggressions at Work.
“So the reality is that microaggressions are not so micro in terms of their impact. They should be taken seriously, because at their core they signal disrespect and reflect inequality.
To create inclusive, welcoming, and healthy workplaces, we must actively combat microaggressions. Doing so requires understanding how they show up and how to respond productively to them, whether they happen to us or to colleagues. Inclusive work environments are not just nice to have — they positively contribute to employee well-being and mental and physical health.”
Ella goes on to outline what constitutes a microaggression. How pervasive they are, and how common idioms can be rooted in racism and sexism, making the business of rooting these out of our vocabulary can often be a learning experience.
Microaggressions are not limited to race, they encompass biases related to: gender, gender expression, sexuality, nationality, religion, ethnicity, body type, age, and ability. With so much on the table to be misunderstood, mistaken, and misinformed about, mistakes will be made. When they are, the importance of developing a Growth Mindset is key. Individuals with a growth mindset know how to learn from their mistakes, can admit to failure or ignorance, and ask clarifying questions to try to understand more about a culture or worldview that is different from their own.
Excuse Me, Your Bias is Showing
An initial step is recognizing bias in language. In the beginning it may be easier to hear it in others than in yourself. The next step would be learning from your mistakes and beginning to use language that reduces harm. It takes time: we are wired to automatically respond, and socialized to respond quickly, retraining the brain takes concerted effort.
When we start hearing the harm, we need to start speaking up. The Life Kit episode below gives us tools for bringing people’s attention to the intentional or unintentional acts of exclusion they are engaging in.
Practice Being The First Domino
Both the making of mistakes, and the calling out of mistakes can be uncomfortable. So tap into your inner Luvvie Ajayi Jones, and be that first domino, that risk taker.
Why do we need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable? Because the toll of microaggressions or subtle acts of exclusion are real and measurable. If we can all do our part to call these act of exclusion out, to re-form the ways in which we interact with each other, then there is less pressure on the person being othered, who is often the most vulnerable person in the room, to be the one constantly correcting, teaching, coaching. No one wants to be ‘that person’, so why are we leaving it to, often, the most uncomfortable person in the room to do over and over and over again?
The Toll of Marginalization
“People say that microaggressions are small things, but our studies indicate that microaggressions have a macro impact as they affect the standard of living of a marginalized group,”. [Daily microaggressions], “create a lowered sense of psychological well-being. They deplete psychic energy or problem-solving and work productivity.” Why? Microaggressions are cumulative. “They occur to people of color from the time they awaken, until they go to bed, from the time they are born until they die.”
- Derald Wing Sue
With the rise of Anti-Trans and Anti-LGBTQ Legislation, we are seeing not just micro, but macro aggressions to the LGBTQ Community. The daily struggles that these large and small injustices wreak also have negative health and life consequences.
In our final act of un-learning today, we bring you another article from The Harvard Business Review, We Need to Retire the Term Microaggression.
“And Ibram X. Kendi writes in his book, How to Be an Antiracist: “I do not use ‘microaggression’ anymore. I detest the post-racial platform that supported its sudden popularity. I detest its component parts — ‘micro’ and ‘aggression.’ A persistent daily low hum of racist abuse is not minor. I use the term ‘abuse’ because aggression is not as exacting a term.”
We have been using Microaggressions and Subtle Acts of Exclusion in tandem throughout the article, so hopefully you can fold this new term in with anything else you’ve taken from the materials today.
Further Reading
