There’s been a lot of talk of racism and sexism lately.
Many have noted that some accusations have gone too far, leading to the firing of people who did nothing wrong.
But the reverse problem often receives less attention: that many real accusations of racism and sexism are dismissed.
How can you know if you’re falling into this trap, one that can leave workers disgruntled while also opening up your firm to lawsuits?
Based on interviewing over 125 workers on their views of racism and sexism, my colleague Betsy Leondar-Wright and I learned that there are common tactics people use that prevent them from seeing racism and sexism. You can ask yourself three questions to know if you’re at risk of them.
First, do you define racism and sexism so narrowly that hardly anything counts?
Workers who miss racism and sexism tend to use narrow definitions of racism and sexism.
You might fall into this category if you only call something racist or sexist when there’s explicit proof of malintent. Knowing others’ intentions is nearly impossible, as few people state them out loud. If you wait for undeniable proof of intent, you’re likely to dismiss cases when an individual or institutional rule repeatedly harms someone of another race or gender.
You may also fall into this category if you say that for racism and sexism to have occurred, someone needs to have caused significant harm. If you appoint yourself the arbitrator of significant harm and find yourself repeatedly telling people that they weren’t really harmed, you may be using overly narrow definitions of racism and sexism as well.
You may also define racism and sexism overly narrowly if you repeatedly find yourself saying that the blame lies with the victim. This may be especially true if you catch yourself always finding that the victim had better options than the ones they took while not saying the same about the person who caused the harm.
Finally, you may find yourself dismissing too many incidents as not racist or sexist if you say that the fact that one person of color or woman is doing well at the firm means that racism or sexism could not have occurred. There can be patterns of mistreatment against people of a particular race or gender without that pattern affecting every member of the group.
Second, do you find yourself dismissing all accusations of racism and sexism?
Do you assume that those who raise allegations of racism and sexism are always out for their own gain?
Do you dismiss others’ allegations of racism and sexism before checking whether they are credible?
Do you take as seriously the possibility that racism or sexism occurred as you do that there’s another explanation for what happened?
If you find yourself making snap judgments that racism and sexism did not occur, you may also miss the mistreatment that is really going on.
Third, do you think that mentioning someone’s race or gender is racist or sexist?
It may seem noble to never mention someone’s race or gender, as it can aid in treating them as individuals rather than as a member of a group. But it’s hard to notice that there are patterned ways people are treated according to their race or gender—whether we like it or not—if we don’t think or talk about race or gender at all.
Treating workers fairly can retain them longer and make them more productive. Doing so entails taking real claims of unfair treatment by race and gender seriously. If you find yourself repeatedly falling into one of these categories, you may be dismissing racism and sexism that really exists.