By Gina Sanchez-Founding Partner
The generally accepted definition of discrimination in the workplace is when a person or a group of people is treated unfairly or unequally because of specific characteristics. These protected characteristics include race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or national origin.
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Psychological Low Down on Discrimination We humans, are truly remarkable in our abilities and achievement potential. However, the very same cognitive systems that enable us to be brilliant, and at a very basic needs level – to survive – can potentially enable the very worst of humanity to show up. One such phenomenon is discrimination. Fundamentally discrimination derives from our brain’s mechanisms to quickly make sense of our surroundings.. For example, in the UK, if we see someone in a Hi-Vis jacket carrying a striped pole with a big circle attached to its top, we know that this person is a ‘lollipop lady’ or ‘lollipop man’, which means that there probably a school in the near vicinity and we need to take care of children crossing the road. This ability to quickly understand a situation unfolding in front of us forms ‘schemas’ in our brain that are added to as we experience more and more different life scenarios. Without these schemas, we would understand very little of life and the world. Unfortunately, the speed at which we process information into our schemas can lead us to stereotype situations and people, which can lead to discrimination and prejudice. If these unpleasant traits go unchallenged and, sadly enabled by others with misguided views, the discrimination can become embedded leading to inhumane and unevolved behaviour. |
Workplace discrimination can happen between co-workers, between employees and their bosses or even between employers and potential employees. In many countries workplace discrimination is illegal. However, the threat of prosecution doesn’t seem to help eradicate such destructive and invasive behaviour, which not only impacts the mental health of individuals but will stunt the growth, efficacy and reputation of the organization itself.
My own encounters with discrimination are sadly numerous. The US-born daughter of Hispanic immigrants, I grew up never being quite white enough, brown enough, or anything enough to fit into any box. In school, when I proved to be an overachiever and smarter than my average classmates, I was a source of confusion and a challenge for my teachers. One such teacher, when asked for additional help in calculus, responded that I shouldn’t worry too much as it must be a fluke that I, ‘a Mexican’, should even be so far in the subject.
In university, I discovered that it wasn’t just my ethnic heritage that seemed to be a problem for others. Walking up the aisle at my Graduation to give one of the commencement speeches, I was taunted for being a woman. According to these now supposedly ‘educated’
graduates, there was no way a woman would have reached such honours solely because of her academic acumen; it must have been the sexual favours she was willing to dole out.
Entering the corporate workplace I experienced more of the same treatment. Fresh out of University I was approached by a major news outlet to become one of their Latin American correspondents. About three months into the gig, I was asked to travel to the US headquarters of said outlet to do some screen testing to be a Spanish language newsreader. I had never intended to be a newsreader and was a bit daunted by the request, but being young and eager, I packed my bag and flew to HQ. The screen test was quick and painful.
“She’s too ethnic looking,” yelled the editor.
“What the ‘bleep’ does that mean,” responded the producer who had invited me over. “She’s for another market. It shouldn’t matter,” he added.
I’ve always been a bit of a rebel and troublemaker, so I got up and walked off the set. To this day I’m not sure whether I was angrier about the comments or about being discussed like an item off the saleroom floor.
Then came a more shocking discovery. Believing that things within the hallowed halls of the NGO Movement would be different – after all, we were all brothers and sisters of one Earth – I walked away from my career in journalism and naively walked into the world of the not-for-profit sector believing that discrimination was what we collectively fought externally. However, an absence of discrimination was not to be.
I remember the first time I joined an international meeting of national office representatives of a particular confederation. At the time I was working in a small, impoverished country, and I began to notice that there was a tendency to ignore me. Often in those days of international meetings, I witnessed other colleagues from the global south receiving the same treatment. I recall asking for the floor at least half a dozen times, but never seemed to be put on the speakers’ list. I also recall the collective jaw drop when I was finally allowed to speak; not only did I speak clearly and efficiently, what I had to say made sense.
When you are faced with bias, prejudice and discrimination all your life, you rightly or wrongly, learn to roll with most of the punches, as that’s what you’re told to do – by those who also experienced discrimination but also by those who should have known better. By the time I arrived in Europe, I had found my voice and knew how to use it. Often witnessing horrific behaviour and attitudes from some of my colleagues. I would not readily let anyone bully, taunt, judge or discriminate against me or anyone else in my presence. Although I always spoke up as did many of my other colleagues, a large number of managers were clearly not trained to handle such behaviour, which led to most situations being ignored and therefore the discrimination being condoned.
The fact is that workplace discrimination is rampant; it is often difficult to identify, document and/or prove. It often gets dismissed and it involves feelings which are many times hard to describe. It might not be as overt as it once was but no matter how subtle, it is harmful—very harmful.
The average adult spends more waking hours in the workplace than at home or with friends and family. For some, the totality of their social interactions happens in the workplace. So, any difference in treatment, attitude or approach is magnified.
Why workplace discrimination needs to be dealt with effectively?
Beyond the legality of the issue, discrimination in your place of employment can lead to lack of motivation, depression, feelings of resentment and higher levels of stress.¹ It can affect performance of the individual, the team and even the organization. Staff who become fed up with a situation will leave, taking all their experience and knowledge with them. Some will go on to share their negative experience with others thereby damaging an NGOs reputation.
Our role as humans is to speak up—I have no doubt about that. But our role as managers is equally as important, if not more so. If your organization doesn’t have clear rules, policies and procedures, insist on going through the process of getting them. Use them. Update them. Follow up. Familiarize yourself with your local/national legislation.
At Spatial Awareness we have been noticing a very welcomed trend. Not-for-profits are investing time and money in revisiting their organizational cultures. Bosses are still perplexed about what exactly it is, but they are more willing to roll up their sleeves and put in the work that needs to take place to create respectful workplaces.
Many organizations are running audits to ensure all their policies and procedures are in place and updated to address any situation of discrimination.
Whilst we believe that there are no shortcuts to establish respectful, positive, progressive places of work, we would like to offer you some tips for addressing the issue.
Top Tips
- Create a safe space for employees to air their grievances. Nominate persons of trust or mentors and counsellors who employees can turn to in moments of crisis. Train these advisors to provide a listening ear and sound advice.
- Keep notes of recurring incidents.
- Review company policies and local/regional/national legislation.
- Address issues as soon as they arise.
- Inform all employees of what is not acceptable and of the consequence’s
- Review your organization’s working culture frequently. Go beyond the box-ticking exercises.
If your organization wants to be ahead of the game, contact us here about our workshops reviewing and tackling Organizational Culture.
What to do if you are a target of workplace discriminations
Inform HR
Keep detailed notes of the incident, including names, dates, place
Consider contacting local government bodies charged with these issues
Seek the help and support of trusted colleagues
Be informed of your company’s policies and procedures
¹ https://www.eoc.org.uk/what-is-discrimination/