On White Privilege
20 years ago, I sat in a Philosophy of Race and Gender class and stated that racism used to be covert, and had become more subtle. The teacher, a Black man, nodded and congratulated me on making an insightful point.
I was so very wrong.
About 12 years ago, I was at work when a white female colleague asked a Black female colleague if she could touch her hair. I was stunned and outraged. My Black coworker said it wasn’t a big deal and let the other white woman touch her hair. To this day, I suspect that it was a big deal, and it simply seemed like the safest course of action to allow the touch.
This morning I read about a new report on racism and intersectional discrimination in the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Canada, and Australia from Catalyst. At least half of women from a marginalized racial or ethnic group in each of these countries has experienced racism at work - sometimes truly blatant racism like the hair touching.
Outside of the beauty industry, I cannot imagine any situation in which touching a person’s body at work - uninvited - is appropriate.
The new research, a survey of more than 2,700 women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups across the five countries, also found that 25% of the respondents believe that a senior leader would discriminate against an employee based on race, ethnicity, or culture.
I cannot think of a more important call for allyship than that statement.
Allyship is hard because it means those of us in a dominant culture (in this case, being white) have to make an effort to unlearn things we never realized we learned. The classic of example of white privilege - which is better termed white entitlement - is being able to walk into a store and not be followed around by a staff or security person expecting you to steal something. But there are so many other examples pertinent to a modern office culture.
Examples of White Entltlement
Expecting your ideas to be listened to, acknowledged, and appreciated the first time you share them;
Feeling you are entitled to apply for jobs and promotions for which you aren’t really qualified - and actually having people consider you or hire you;
Never being told your hair or your speech is not “professional;”
Seeing symbols of holidays you celebrate openly placed around the workplace, including in videocall backgrounds;
Knowing your personal space will not be invaded by coworkers;
And if it is invaded, feeling able to speak up about it and expecting others to believe you;
Never hearing someone refer to your “culture” in a disparaging way, such as calling it “savage;”
Being promoted because you work hard, regardless of whether you make it known you want a higher level position.
Note: This is FAR from an exhaustive list!
I’m still reading through the full report from Catalyst. I highly recommend it - they focus on recommending actions for leaders to make change.
I am often mistaken for a DEI specialist. I’m not. I refer to DEI specialists.
So why I do bother to blog about racism at work?
It’s pretty simple: Racism is wrong. Racism makes no one happy, not even the white people benefiting from it - not really. It cuts us off from potential friends, colleagues, and partners; it makes us afraid of people when we should be openly accepting of them.
Racism is also a root of many interpersonal conflicts.
And of course, as a white woman, I know I’m part of the problem and I am responsible for speaking up and teaching others to do better.
Moreover, as an empathy specialist and a mediator, I understand how racism gets in the way of truly listening to, and empathizing with, our colleagues. The number one rule I train people on is, when you listen to others, don’t judge what they tell you.
It’s especially hard to avoid judging when someone, like a Black or Asian person, is telling a white person something that they have never experienced and don’t believe to be true. But it is true - and we need to stop judging and telling people who have different experiences that they’re wrong.