Chapter 3: Systemic and Workplace Microaggressions and the Workplace: Recommendations for Best Practices for Institutions and Organizations

Despite evidence of political and social progress in the United States (US), discriminatory attitudes and behaviors continue to persist in US society. While significant progress has been made in the civil rights movement and expressions of bias such as racial discrimination have diminished in terms of frequency and intensity since the 1960s (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2000; Sue & Sue 2007), discrimination continues to manifest in subtle and implicit ways, resulting in significant and deleterious outcomes for individuals, particularly those belonging to marginalized identity groups. Covert forms of discrimination have been described as aversive racism (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2000), modern racism (McConahay, 1986), symbolic racism (Sears, 1988), and racial microaggressions (Pierce et al., 1978; Sue et al., 2007). These types of discrimination are more likely to be disguised, having evolved from conscious and blatant expressions of hatred and bigotry to more nebulous forms (Sue et al., 2007), making it more difficult to identify and to acknowledge these acts when they occur (Dovidio, Gaertner, Kawakami, & Hodson, 2002). Previous scholars have argued that blatant acts of discrimination can be easier to detect and respond to in some respects because the intentions of the perpetrators are clear versus subtle discrimination in which bias may be more difficult to prove (Sue, 2010).