PLEASE NOTE THIS SESSION HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL 6TH JULY - Inclusionist Interactions: How to recognise and manage Microagressions in the workplace

From your PC, laptop or phone - Via ZOOM

Come and join other Men for Inclusion 'Inclusionists' for our bi-weekly virtual chat and discusion. We are welcoming members and non-members to join.

For this week’s Inclusionist Interactions series we will be discussing How to recognise and manage Microagressions in the workplace 

I am delighted to invite you to join me, Suresh Sudera and members of the Men for Inclusion network to discuss “How to recognise and manage Microagressions in the workplace”.  Joining me and offering their advice will be Jill Armstrong, an expert on inclusion.

A year back, I was being interviewed for a Director of Product role for a technology company based in London - resulting in a well paid job offer I eventually turned down. The hiring manager, a C-level, questioned “You are really well spoken aren’t you??”. (Maybe I don’t speak like other Indian men he had experience of). It made me feel uncomfortable, but I had no idea why at that time, and that this was in fact a Microagression.

Microaggressions are commonly used comments and slights, made intentionally or accidentally, that call undue attention to the race, ethnicity, gender or other characteristics of people and make them feel 'othered' or that they don't belong.

As well as this example:

•  "You speak so well" or "You don't sound indian",

Other examples of Microaggressions include

• "Where are you from? No, where are you "really" from?"
• "You are so articulate." OR "You are a credit to your race."
• "I don't even think of you as *Black / Asian / Hispanic* etc."
• "Can I just call you…Sarah/Sam?"
• "As a woman, I know what you go through as a racial minority."
• "I don't see colour."

Join us, as I discuss how my experience made me feel; how I could have managed it better; other examples of Microagressions and how to deal with them.

Suresh Sudera is an Ambassador at Men for Inclusion. He is on the advisory board at Discovery Schools Academies Trust, and provides career coaching and mentorship for men and women transitioning from academia to industry. With a global corporate career spanning 15+ years, including leading commercial product units at Samsung and Vodafone, he has extensive international leadership experience managing local and remote diverse teams and partners in matrix organisations. He believes deeply in the advantages that diversity brings and wants to help Men understand how to better play their part in advancing towards a more inclusive world and workplace.