Race Equality Week: It’s Not Micro by Kate Norgrove

This time last year I made a #BigPromise to set a zero-tolerance approach to racism and microaggressions at WWF-UK. Creating an inclusive organisation is a critical part of WWF-UK’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy. Doing so is not only the right thing to do but is also the way that we will best deliver our mission to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature. This is story about my (at times painstakingly slow) progress in doing so.??

My own journey towards understanding microaggressions began for me in 2019, at an eye-opening training I was part of on diversity and inclusion. It was there that I realised that the ‘colour-blindness’ I had been proud of, over so many years, was harmful and hurtful, and over time will have impacted the people I loved and those that I just encountered in many ways.?

‘A microaggression is a subtle, often unintentional, form of prejudice. It often takes the shape of an offhand comment, an inadvertently painful joke, or a pointed insult’ (Psychology Today).??

‘I don’t see colour’ was something I had certainly thought, if not said, multiple times before that point. What I hadn’t understood, was that in doing so I was failing to see and acknowledge that racism exists, and that my own thoughts, ideas, beliefs and choices I made could be racist. It was also a subtle message to individuals or groups that ‘seeing race’ was a bad thing, and that there shouldn’t be any discussion about. I was denying the racial identity of the people around me.??

In Race Equality Week last year, on 7 February 2024, I used this experience to kick-start a discussion on micro-aggressions at WWF-UK. The #ItsNotMicro campaign, promoted by Race Equality Matters, was one of the five one day actions suggested for action that week.??

We watched All the Little Things – a powerful short articulation of what it feels like to be on the other side of microaggressions. I naively expected to have conversations with other colleagues – those without protected characteristics - about things they had said that they regretted, or learnings they’d grown from. Instead the hour we had together was made up of primarily an intersectional group of colleagues of colour, colleagues with disabilities, or LGBTQ+ colleagues, all talking together about the microaggressions they had experienced in their lives – and yes, also at WWF-UK.??

From ‘where are you REALLY from’ to ‘can I touch your hair’, the examples kept coming. I ended the session shocked and upset, set up my promise for the year, and ploughed on. I spoke to our CEO, Exec Group colleagues about the experience, my Directors team, the colleagues who were on the call, and delivered more sessions for the organisation and for my team.??

Looking back at the year I realise I should probably have listened a little longer before jumping in. The spaces I have created haven’t always been safe – not for those who had suffered from microaggressions in the first place, those with the confidence to admit to or call them out, nor those who may have caused them, who were too scared to listen, learn and reflect.??

If we want to create those safe spaces, the leadership team at WWF-UK need to be happy to be challenged without being defensive. We also need to be clear – as I want to be now – that none of us should get applause for recognising where we’ve gone wrong in the past. Looking forwards I may never, ever get it completely right but I, and WWF-UK, are on a journey of progress not perfection. Talking publicly about that journey is uncomfortable but is the right place to start.??

This Race Equality Week’s action for day three is on the importance of using inclusive language. I love the quote they highlight there.?

Inclusive language isn’t just about choosing different words. It’s a meaningful way to bring people together, helping us to understand and respect each other’s unique lives and experiences. (Rachael Evans)?

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This year I plan to use the Race Equality Week step by step guide to implement the #ItsNotMicro campaign a little more thoughtfully than I did last year. I’ll let you know how I get on.?