Microaggression: Recognize and Respond

Have you ever been in a situation, either at work or in a social setting, with family and friends, where someone says or does something that feels hostile and offensive? Quite often, we have trouble putting our finger on what it was that felt hostile or offensive. The words or actions are subtle and not obvious. These kinds of actions, statements, and assumptions are known as microaggression.

Microaggression could Target any aspect of our being. It could be our race, gender, sexuality, socio-economic background, age, parenthood, or any other aspect of who we are. Anyone could be at the receiving end of microaggression.

Let's take an example to understand better. Imagine a scenario where a project sponsor says to their project manager, "We need someone young and tech-savvy to work on this project."

What is wrong with the above idea?

Here the sponsor is assuming that someone beyond. a particular age is not tech-savvy. This. is not being overtly stated but it is impled very strongly. If you say this dialogue out loud, you may feel uncomfortable with the idea. That's the subtlety at play.

Disrespect and inequality may be at the core of some of the instances of microaggression, or they could be completely unintentional. There are instances of microaggression all around us and we can identify them if we are aware and informed.

When a colleague confides in you about microaggression that they have experienced, acknowledging the incident, and validating their experience is crucial as this allows your colleague to feel heard and appreciated. The next step would be to call out instances of microaggression. We may want to give some thought to how these are called out: either in public or in. a private conversation with the micro aggressor. It is important that even though we may not be at the receiving end of a microaggression, it is important to call it out.

If we are called out for. microaggression, it's a good thing!

This will serve as a learning moment and provide us with an opportunity to. introspect into our own unconscious biases, have important conversations to gain a better understanding of the impact of our words and actions, and take corrective actions so that we contribute to building an inclusive work environment.