Your team is facing microaggressions. How can you foster a culture of diversity and inclusion?

One thing I’ve found helpful is like diet and exercise, to commit to a daily practice. It could be: 1) speaking up when the people the aggression is aimed are not in the room 2) ensuring they are not left out of important meeting and email conversations 3) giving SMART feedback when mentoring and doing performance reviews 4) speaking and sharing positive macro and micro messages with them 5) having regular career conversations 6) normalize checking in with them, asking how you can help instead of pointing out what they are doing wrong

Microagressions may not look to directly attack someone but its those indirect comments passed which can deeply impact someone. This comes from the unconscious biases we all are holding. Calling people with odd names or making fun of their ethnicity or culture. Create an awareness within your team, help them to acknowledge whats nit right and also understand their queries. Make them feel heard valued and embrace the differences.

o foster a culture of diversity and inclusion and address microaggressions within our team, we will prioritize education and awareness through regular training on diversity, inclusion, and unconscious bias. Clear anti-discrimination policies will be established and communicated effectively to ensure zero tolerance for microaggressions. We will promote open communication channels, encouraging team members to share experiences and concerns openly and anonymously if needed.

You may face some pushback as you explain how certain acts or words were experienced as a microaggression. When people have good intentions, they often react defensively when it is called a microaggression, because they weren't trying to be aggressive. Expect that, and provide deeper understanding, recognizing that what feels like a microaggression to one person might not feel like one to another person.

Dealing with microaggressions at work requires a blend of grace, Moxy, and a dash of humor. First, don’t let unconscious bias trip you up; see it as a speed bump, not a roadblock. When a microaggression hits, stay cool and call it out with a witty retort, like, “Did you mean to say that out loud?” or “Let’s add that to the list of things not to repeat.” Always seek to educate, not escalate—offer training and resources for understanding. Remember, it's about fostering growth, not grudges. With patience and persistence, you can turn awkward moments into opportunities for enlightenment.

Too often, people only hire people exactly like themselves, because that is understandably what they are comfortable with. Older people do it because they become set in their ways, and younger people do it because they can feel competitive, threatened and judgmental. Unfortunately, this leads to a team that thinks exactly the same way, which is fine in some circumstances. But for the teams who want some check and balance, to be cutting edge and thought leaders, you need diversity. You need someone(s) who thinks differently. Judge all you want on a person's execution or communication of their ideas, but if you judge them because they don't think like you? You will forever be surrounded by yes men and become increasingly inflexible with time.