How can you develop your ability to recognize and respond to microaggressions?

Unless everyone accepts racism and bias exists and becomes self-aware by doing the inner work required outside of work hours, microagressions will continue to exists. Microagressions is centered in a belief about who you and others are which determines how you treat people. If you are unaware of how you show up, you will continue to be unaware of how you make others feel. The root is in your belief system. I've experienced microagressions my whole career. It's hard to describe, but you feel it and it is hard to address directly because its your experience and others may not see it, hear it. I've been gaslit many times. It takes courage and comes at a cost but integrity is important to me.

in, "In the company of women" (Heim & Murphy, 2008), I've noticed a paradox of empowerment and pain. We lift each other up, but sometimes, in the subtlest ways, we chip away at our collective strength. It's in the small, almost invisible acts - the microaggressions. A backhanded compliment about someone's success, a casual remark on another's life choice, each one a tiny needle pricking at the balloon of our unity. These moments, often stemming from our insecurities or societal impositions, create a silent storm of hurt. Yet, recognizing these microaggressions is our first step towards healing and truly supporting each other." I have developed a method of mitigating this phenomenon and look forward to sharing this wisdom with others.

Developing presence and self awareness. There are plenty of practices to reconnect to our inner voice therefore attune to our intuition.

This is how I explained it to my 9 year old daughter: microaggressions, think of them like small, unkind comments or actions. I think we need to keep it simple.

From what I’ve seen it is really important to learn the ‘theory’ of microagressions but more importantly to hear people’s examples from real life. Some microagressions will be ‘standard’ but some others won’t so listening to people about what is a microagression in their eyes and experience is important.

Microaggressions are harmful because of the type of trauma they cause individuals. In the case of Black people, there is collective trauma, generational trauma, and/or individualized trauma that happens over time. The more we are on the receiving end of harm or have to address harm, it impacts us mentally and physically. It is imperative that all workplaces and schools gain a foundational understanding of not only "what" they are, but "why" they impact us and "how" to interrupt all forms of race based microaggressions and gender based microaggressions in the moment. I always quote, "In order for any type of change to occur, one must be willing to think on a different level and view from a different perspective." circa 1993

The subtle, often unintentional expressions of bias which microaggression is basically about can lead to feelings of exclusion, self-doubt, and diminished self-worth. Over time, repeated exposure to microaggressions can contribute to a toxic culture and hinder diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within organizations and society at large. Recognizing and addressing microaggressions is crucial for fostering a respectful and supportive environment.

Microaggressions are the everyday slights, insults, invalidations, and offensive behaviors that people experience in daily interactions. Not necessarily by mean people, but by well-intentioned individuals who may be unaware that they have engaged in demeaning ways.

Recognizing microaggressions requires a keen awareness of subtle cues in language and behavior. For instance, if you hear someone make comments that indicate they are assuming a person's nationality based on their accent or dialect, they make jokes that mimic accents or comment about capabilities, know-how, or just oversimplifying their culture in stereotypical generalizations, which is harmful. Raising awareness and helping others know when they are speaking based on assumptions helps to stop the perpetuation of stereotypes or offending others. Engaging in open dialogue and learning from diverse perspectives is critical to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment.

In my experience, the best way an organisation can respond to microaggressions is by creating a culture where others are aware and willing to step up as allies. We all need to be sensitive to other people’s concerns, and willing to support them as active bystanders. In reality, it’s much easier for an ally to challenge a microaggression than it is for the targets themselves, particularly for those who have a high degree of power and privilege.

This really requires a lot of empathy and to build empathy you have to do inner work. And this is where a lot of people who consider themselves leaders are lacking. They lack empathy. You can build empathy only by doing the work on yourself. And when you do that and as you do that you will not take things personally. And that I believe is the first step in responding to microagressions. The high school bully has gone corporate.

The crux of the matter is on awareness which provides understanding to avoid unintentional biases. Where there is an inclusive environment, people would feel comfortable discussing these issues, providing constructive feedback, education on diversity and inclusion, encouraging respectful dialogue and promoting mutual understanding.

Training is important but it’s got to go deeper than that. Having leaders and managers that role model inclusive behaviours, actively step up and challenge micro aggressions in meetings/conversations/key decisions and checking in with those who have been subject to them first how they feel. Also link to behaviours that employees are assessed against.

One of the main things that you can look for, especially if you want to be a better ally but don't know how, is to a) see what kind of reaction a statement receives, and b) if the person who said it starts to be on the (figurative) back foot. Lots of microaggressions are disguised as off-color jokes, but even those that aren't can be thought of that way. Did the room go quiet when someone said something, or can you sense awkwardness? Does something just not "feel" right? Your intuition is probably on the right track!