ALL: Happy birthday to--
Take it away Amanda!
Oh, no I'm fine.
Oh come on it's Sarah's birthday,
let's hear you, 'Sang gurl'.
Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing.
Come on Beyoncé!
Happy birthday to you.
CHEERING
That was amazing.
That was so beautiful.
Anyway, who wants some cake?
Yes!
It's not easy being the minority in any situation.
But in the workplace, as the only black woman,
it can be a very frustrating and stressful environment.
OK Yonce, now let's get in formation for dis cake.
I'm just in the middle of something, I'll be there in a sec.
Oh 'Okurrr!'.
And that my friends is an example of a microaggression.
So what is a microaggression?
Brief, commonplace, daily verbal, behavioural or environmental
indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate
hostile, derogatory or negative prejudicial slights and insults
towards any group, particularly culturally marginalised groups.
That’s right, I've read up on this.
It felt so good to be able to label that behaviour.
To give a name to the underlying stress and discomfort
that comes from being confronted by microaggressions.
He means well, but that's what makes these aggressions, well, micro.
Intent is not the same as impact, and a throwaway comment or joke
can have a huge impact on the rest of someone's day.
I spoke to some friends about their experiences in the workplace.
How does it make you feel?
So we talked a lot about these microaggressions,
out-and-out racism in the workplace,
how does that make you feel?
I know that I definitely feel,
kind of, other, very separate to an extent that I don't talk about any
kind of black experiences I have outside of work.
Some of the things that I don’t like are those sweeping statements,
'Has anybody got an umbrella? Debbie will have one because black people
don't like to get their hair wet.'
And here is the kitchen, where we really get things cooking.
But seriously guys, this space is used by everyone,
so just be mindful about strong smelling foods.
Right, up next, the photocopiers.
I'm always super polite, super kind, super cordial and everyone's like,
'Oh Essi's super friendly' but sometimes I do just want to
snap back at somebody or get annoyed and I feel like I can't.
I feel like the second I display passion
for doing a good job,
people are like, 'Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah.'
That was great Amanda,
I'm not sure the figures are quite accurate though.
Actually I double-checked them with finance to make sure
and they're spot on.
Woah girlfriend, maybe dial down the sass a little?
For a lot of my white colleagues, they're quite happy to just have
all these discussions about racism, but because it doesn’t affect them
emotionally, whereas for me it's quite difficult to hear those
conversations because it's like, I have lived through a lot of that
and I'm just trying to do my work and you're bringing up these really
difficult issues for me.
Oh Amanda, thank god, explain to Sarah what the
Black Lives Matter movement is.
All jokes aside, it can be very difficult when you find yourself
on the receiving end of this kind of behaviour.
So, what can you do about it?
Well, I have a few ideas.
Firstly, set up the situation.
Kate, you know when you took us on that tour the other day?
Next, objectively describe the behaviour and get clarification.
You asked me to explain the Black Lives Matter movement?
Why did you ask me?
Next, and this is the most important bit, explain the impact.
If you want the behaviour to stop, people need to know why.
John, when you use phrases like, 'Woah girlfriend' or describe me as,
'Sassy', it feels like you're accusing me of me being aggressive
and makes me worry about sharing my opinions.
I haven't seen you do this to any other members of the team.
Final step, do differently.
Work together to come up with solutions to ensure that you
do things differently in future.
To be completely honest, I hate singing on my own
and I don’t think it's fair to put someone on the spot like that.
Self-selected solos from now on?
ALL: Yeah!
It's not always going to be that easy, but hopefully these tips will
provide some helpful navigation through difficult situations.
And if don’t improve or if you don’t feel comfortable
confronting a colleague, talk to your boss, HR or union rep.
Racial discrimination at work is illegal.
It's everyone's responsibility to think about the impact
that their words might have on someone else.
Now, if you don’t mind, I've got a party to get back to.
Who's for cake?