Subtle Acts of Exclusion
Overt discrimination is relatively easy to spot. However, not all discrimination is so obvious. In fact, there are less obvious but nonetheless quite common actions which make people feel left out or stigmatized in our workplaces, commonly called microaggressions. These can be hard to identify and even harder to deal with. Unfortunately, this term can sometimes prove counterproductive as those who are said to have committed microaggressions shut down the conversation when they feel they are being accused of ‘aggression’.
Jana and Baran use a clearer, more accurate term: subtle acts of exclusion (SAE). After all, people often aren’t actively trying to be aggressive or discriminatory, usually they’re trying to say learn more about a person, or be funny. The authors therefore provide us with the best ways of opening the conversation up rather than potentially having it shut down, with a range of tools, sample scripts, and guides to help readers navigate subtle acts of aggression.