Читать книгу Prep, Push, Pivot - Octavia Goredema - Страница 16

Despite decades of anti-discrimination laws, being a woman of color in the workplace exerts a largely unseen emotional tax on your performance, well-being, and ability to thrive. A recent study by Catalyst, a nonprofit that advocates for accelerating and advancing women into leadership, found that 68 percent of people of color are on guard to protect against bias and unfair treatment within their work teams.³ Most of us know we don't need a survey to tell us what we have already experienced. Studies repeatedly show that invisibility and exclusion—often described as the feeling of not being heard or recognized in group settings—is a widespread problem for women of color.⁴

While many of us have become accustomed to the perils of unconscious bias, lack of support, and performative allyship, dealing with insensitive language, microaggressions, harassment, and discrimination is one of the most devastating experiences for anyone to navigate in their place of work.

Knowing your worth, even in the face of the steepest of challenges, is paramount. At the federal level, laws protect employees from unfair treatment because of their race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability status. These categories also cover discrimination based on color, gender identity, pregnancy, and sexual orientation. In addition, many states provide more expansive discrimination protections. For example, in 2019 California became the first state in the United States to ban employers and school officials from discriminating against people based on their natural hair.⁵ Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Crown Act into law, making it illegal to enforce dress codes or grooming policies against hairstyles such as afros, braids, twists, and locs.

If you are being harassed or discriminated against, document the experiences detailing the date, time, and location the incident took place, what was said or took place, and if there were witnesses. Talk to an employment lawyer who can provide advice, and explain your options based on your experience. This may include reporting the issue to your employer, filing a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or filing a lawsuit.

Microaggressions are defined as everyday slights, indignities, put-downs, and insults that members of marginalized groups experience in their day-to-day interactions.⁶ If you've been on the receiving end of one, or heard one, you know it. It's toxic, it's disrespectful, and it's wrong. Examples of microaggressions can include:

 An assumption of lesser employment status

 Being mistaken for someone else of the same racial background

 Being ignored

 Questions about background, such as being asked, “Where are you from?”

 Discriminatory comments disguised as compliments

 Using racially insensitive language

 Touching of hair

Microaggressions have an impact on your self-esteem, job satisfaction, mental health, and physical health, so it's critical for you to decide where to draw the line, however hard that may be. Kevin Nadal, professor of psychology at John Jay College, developed a tool kit called the Guide to Responding to Microaggressions.⁷ It lists five questions to ask yourself when weighing the consequences of responding to a microaggression:

1 If I respond, could my physical safety be in danger?

2 If I respond, will the person become defensive and will this lead to an argument?

3 If I respond, how will this affect my relationship with this person?

4 If I don't respond, will I regret not saying something?

5 If I don't respond, does that convey that I accept the behavior or statement?

Dealing with discrimination, harassment, or microaggressions in the workplace is deeply distressing; don't go it alone. Lean on friends, family, and mental health resources and specialists as and when needed. We did not create these workplace land mines and we cannot solve them alone. It's hard to change anyone's behavior if they don't want to change. It's not possible to singlehandedly change your workplace culture. But you can control your responses and actions and safeguard your mental health.