Microaggressions are brief and common comments and behaviours that can be seen, felt, and heard. They reflect and communicate our biases whether conscious or unconscious, intentional, or not. In the workplace, these “subtle acts of exclusion” come in many forms.
Consider for a moment, are any of these statements ones you may have made in the past?
Microaggression is a term coined by psychiatrist and Harvard University professor Chester M. Pierce in 1970 to describe insults and dismissals he regularly witnessed non-black Americans inflict on African Americans. In 1973, MIT economist Mary Rowe extended the term to include similar aggressions directed at women, and those of different abilities, religions, sexual orientations, etc. She also used the word micro-inequity to describe an inequitable treatment of another person in a manner that is not overtly “aggressive”, yet which might stem from negligence, ignorance, or what we now call unconscious bias.
Other Examples of Microaggressions:
- Being silenced or ignored – denying or minimizing the experiences of someone who is racialized
- Intelligence or ability questioned – In ways not experienced by white people
- Made to feel invisible – constantly being interrupted when speaking or having work/experiences invalidated
- Emotional behavior – when a person’s behaviour is made to fit into a stereotype that is determined by white norms
- Expressing personal or political opinions assuming that the targets of those opinions are not present
- Expecting people of a particular group to represent the perspectives of others who share their identity
- Using sexist language
- Using heteronormative metaphors or examples
- Assuming the gender or pronouns
- See this list of further examples
REFLECT:
- Has there been a time you may have been biased or directed a microaggression towards someone because of their race, sexual orientation, gender, or disability, perhaps even unintentionally?
- Describe any microaggressions you’ve experienced. What effect did they have on you? On how you were treated by others?
- If you have not experienced microaggressions, why do you think that is?
- Can you think of any examples of times you witnessed or committed a microaggression without realizing it? What could have happened differently?