How to Recognize Racism
Look for stereotyping.Stereotyping is assigning certain qualities to people based solely on their race., Beware of hostility.Racism often manifests in the workplace as a hostile tone, behavior, or attitude toward workers of a certain race., Keep an...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Look for stereotyping.Stereotyping is assigning certain qualities to people based solely on their race.
Believing that all Asians are really good at math, for instance, is a stereotype.
It makes no difference whether the stereotype assigns positive or negative qualities to a person — either way, it’s still a sign of racism.
People who stereotype others often make blanket statements using an “us” and “them” structure.
For instance, you might hear a coworker or manager say, “They are all too lazy to work here.” -
Step 2: Beware of hostility.Racism often manifests in the workplace as a hostile tone
Either a manager or a coworker might perpetrate hostility against you because of your race.
Racial hostility could take many forms, including:
Physical intimidation or abuse Assigning workloads that are unequal to those of one’s peers (either more or less work) Mocking an accent or way of speaking , Racists might overreact to situations that are not a big deal, or react less critically to the same situation when someone of their race does the same thing.
Unfair criticism might result in harsh employee reviews and a failure to be promoted.
Racial minorities in a workplace might not get a raise or be paid the same amount, even when their peers of a different race are moving up the ladder.
Look for patterns in which individuals are not promoted. , This is hard to notice unless you’re inside a company and privy to the hiring and interview practices of the company.
Look out for people who, for instance, discard applications with “unusual” or ethnic names before even interviewing the individuals.
This is a good indicator of racism. -
Step 3: behavior
-
Step 4: or attitude toward workers of a certain race.
-
Step 5: Keep an eye out for unfair criticism.If a racial minority in the workplace is told consistently that their work is never good enough
-
Step 6: it might be because of their race.
-
Step 7: Look for biased hiring practices.If you notice that there are few racial minorities employed in your workplace
-
Step 8: the company might have racist hiring practices or management.
Detailed Guide
Believing that all Asians are really good at math, for instance, is a stereotype.
It makes no difference whether the stereotype assigns positive or negative qualities to a person — either way, it’s still a sign of racism.
People who stereotype others often make blanket statements using an “us” and “them” structure.
For instance, you might hear a coworker or manager say, “They are all too lazy to work here.”
Either a manager or a coworker might perpetrate hostility against you because of your race.
Racial hostility could take many forms, including:
Physical intimidation or abuse Assigning workloads that are unequal to those of one’s peers (either more or less work) Mocking an accent or way of speaking , Racists might overreact to situations that are not a big deal, or react less critically to the same situation when someone of their race does the same thing.
Unfair criticism might result in harsh employee reviews and a failure to be promoted.
Racial minorities in a workplace might not get a raise or be paid the same amount, even when their peers of a different race are moving up the ladder.
Look for patterns in which individuals are not promoted. , This is hard to notice unless you’re inside a company and privy to the hiring and interview practices of the company.
Look out for people who, for instance, discard applications with “unusual” or ethnic names before even interviewing the individuals.
This is a good indicator of racism.
About the Author
Ryan Burns
Committed to making organization accessible and understandable for everyone.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: