Webinar Recap: How to Recognize and Respond to Microaggressions

Moderator: Anita C. Ricketts, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fair360, formerly DiversityInc

Panelists:

  • Annaliece Gargiulo, Project Manager, Legal Operations, Abbott (No. 4 on the 2021 Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list)
  • Patricia Rossman, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, BASF (No. 12 in 2021)
  • Everette Nichols, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Jefferson

Microaggressions happen every day and happen in the form of verbal insults, nonverbal snubs or jokes that are in poor taste.

On April 20, experts from leading companies explored how microaggressions negatively affect the workplace and how to identify them and respond appropriately to them to create a more inclusive and respectful workplace culture.

Watch the full session below:

Key Webinar Thoughts, Takeaways and Highlights

Annaliece Gargiulo on counteracting microaggressions: 

“The approach that I like to take is what I call the ‘you have something in your teeth’ approach. I think this has probably happened to everybody on this call, at some point in time, you go somewhere, you have a salad or you’re eating something and you end up with some type of food in your teeth and you’re walking around and you go to the bathroom one day and you look in the mirror and you’re like, oh my gosh, I have spinach in my teeth and nobody told me, and that’s kind of how I think about microaggressions. It’s not something we want to intentionally happen, but it can and will happen, but we really don’t want to be embarrassed and we want somebody to tell us. So when I see these happen on my projects, that’s the mentality that I have is somebody has some spinach in their teeth, they don’t know, and it’s up to us to tell them.”

Everette Nichols on educating employees on microaggressions through e-learning:

“In responding to microaggressions, one of the first things we’ve done through our central office is to provide resources, understanding that microaggressions can happen at any time within any interaction, and one of the main resources we provide are diversity, equity and inclusion modules. I want to highlight specifically for today’s conversation our ‘Disarming Microaggressions’ e-learning.”

Nichols shared examples of microaggressions he has heard personally at work, such as “you talk very white” or “I didn’t know that you were gay” or “I don’t see race.”

“We also try to educate our Jefferson family on the impact and the toll that microaggressions can have on an individual, that there can be a psychological toll and that can result in lower productivity, some separation from the larger workgroup and from that office space. There can be impacts in terms of engagement within the workplace, because those microaggressions, even though they are well-intentioned, even though they may seem small in their occurrence, happen every day and they carry great weight, they carry a great impact.”

Patricia Rossman on addressing microaggressions:

“I think it is great for all of us, especially when we’re talking about microaggressions, to stay away from this whole idea of the good side and bad side. I think most people really do want to do the right thing. As a company, we have the responsibility to lead with our values. What we would do in circumstances like this is try to help the person see that what they think that they’re conveying is not the way it’s being received. We all do well by giving people the capacity for growth and that people can change. They can change their perspectives. That’s what makes the world an interesting place. I think it’s what makes us all interesting as people.

“I do think that there is a point at which companies have to say, if we have individuals who truly can’t evolve in a way that reflects the values of our company, then these are individuals who can’t be part of our company. I say that we have a very healthy lead time. We want to start and work with everyone where they start and we want to see progress in evolving their perspectives. And then in those very few cases where people cannot, I think it is really important that individuals cannot lead people at values-based companies. If they don’t reflect those values, you can’t work at those companies. That’s only true in very small numbers of cases.”