Diversity Thursday

There are few things that will upset the diversity bullies more than people spending their days treating each other as individuals. Worse than that for them are people who happily accept the glorious mixture of their DNA sources as opposed to self-classifying themselves in to some other's narrow racist sectarian wedge more in like with AKC dog breeder or early 19th century eugenicists view of things.

When they run in to an organization that is fully mature and equal in how it treats everyone, they get especially upset as, if there is no racial, ethnic, and gender based discrimination, how on Earth will they justify their paycheck?

Half a century after legally sanctioned discrimination went to the dustbin of history (at least in the USA) and at the end of the second decade of the 21st Century, 99.9% of Americans just go about their daily business (if allowed) without fretting on things as meaningless as the race, creed, color or national origin of the person next to them. In such a world, how are the legions of mal-educated cadres in the diversity commissariat going to find employment?

Make business, of course! Like themselves, they know that in any population there are a few individuals who define themselves by their victim-hood status - as that is how they excuse all the problems they run in to as they drift through life. Everything is not perfect, you see, because they are being victimized.

Problem is, what if there is no evidence of their victim-hood? Just the opposite - what if they like everyone else they are treated by objective standards? Well ... one must feed a grievance.

Like the alien in the dog kennel from The Thing - so too the diversity industry is throwing out another tentacle in search of a productive hold.

Years before they were thrown in your face, we warned you about the rise of "micro-aggressions" as the new unprovable addition to the miasma of division. Now, thanks to the diversity bullies over at CNRF, we have something else for you to look forward to being preached to from the rent-seeking Orwellian cadres ... "micro-inequalities."

Don't laugh too hard. There are people who are going to use this to make your life a Kafkaesque hell if you don't push back before they get you.

All of us communicate daily in the workplace by sending unconscious signals defined as “micro-inequities.” Micro-inequities are the subtle slights we send to other people, through our social signals. Our social signals are sent to one another through our behavior. They are called “micro” because the behaviors are small; however, their impact can be enormous in the workplace.

Micro-inequities are usually unconscious thoughts that may cause one to feel devalued, slighted, discouraged and excluded. Discrimination occurs in many forms; often people just shake it off until they can no longer take it. One can be singled out as a minority because of race, color, age, disability, religion, gender, national origin, disability, marital status, weight, and economic status. So, what types of signals are you sending in the workplace? Here are a few examples:

1. Being left out of a discussion or project, constantly being interrupted while you are talking.

2. Trying to speak with someone who is reading/sending emails during conversation.

3. Talking with someone who keeps looking at their watch.

4. Not being introduced in a meeting and then being ignored.

5. Avoidance of eye contact, rolling of the eyes, cutting down ideas before they can be entertained, staying on the cell phone with no explanation, mispronouncing your name or misspelling your name or change in voice pitch, volume or rate.

6. Change in body posture, change in hand movements and gestures, fake or masked forced smile.

These subtle slights may impact the workplace by causing employees to quit or leave their job because of “unfair treatment.” This damages the command’s recruitment and retention efforts, and lowers employee morale and productivity levels. We can change our behaviors by first becoming aware of them and then changing the behavior. We want to make sure we are sending microaffirmations, which are signals that cause people to feel valued, included, and encouraged. Here are a few positive micro-affirmations: giving positive feedback on a job well done, congratulating someone on their promotion or contribution, and recognition of a coworkers importance to the team. Let’s all make sure we are sending those positive affirmations in the workplace.

Read it all and bask in the glory.


Hat tip W.