Building capacity: Navigating organizational opportunities as if they were a subway system

8th Annual NW Diversity Learning Series (2006)

Three Case Studies:
Session Three Summary:
Anticipating the loss of power: Transforming micro-inequities that impede access to opportunities and inhibit relationships

By Wesley Profit

What do you do when you are the object of subtle discrimination? Or if you observe it? The following three Case Studies were used as a tool in the third session of the NW Diversity Learning Series (May 11, 2006) to help participants identify, anticipate and effectively respond to micro-inequities and micro-aggressions - both at the interpersonal and organizational level.

Case Study One: Introduction to the informal culture

The first Case Study features Jerry, the vice-president in charge of production for a company; Marsha, who has been selected to join Jerry's executive management team, and the remaining team members, all of whom are men. At a meeting, whose purpose was to introduce Marsha to the entire management team, following the introductions and the on-boarding process (each member sharing one's own background and role within the organization), a conversation about the monthly team-bowling night takes place as follows:

One of the team members yells out:

Don't forget to tell her about our monthly bowling night.

Jerry:

I forgot about that, thanks for reminding me. There is a tradition in the executive management team that we go bowling once a month. It's an informal thing. Done on our own time. We divide into teams and compete against each other.

Different team members (laughing):

Yeah, whoever gets her on their team should probably get a handicap.

Jerry:

You are welcome to come but you probably won't want to. It's a kind of male thing. We sit around and drink and tell war stories. Sometimes we even talk about work.

Debrief comments:

At the interpersonal level, talking about a person as if he or she is not present really puts a lot of space between you and the person being talked about. It is a way of registering how uncomfortable (strange, novel, unusual) one feels. It is an example of space abuse because it excludes the person while distancing the other parties. In other words, it isolates the person. Walling people off drains and misuses energy that could better be spent bringing the person into the group. But it is primarily an example of space abuse.

"The bowling activity" doesn't necessarily start as a micro-aggression or micro-inequity but it quickly comes to be used as one. It is embedded in the culture; yet it is no longer an appropriate activity because it diminishes or excludes participation by a member of the group. What is frequently missed is that the activity likely doesn't work well for some of the men in the group—not every male bowls well or would like to. Finding more inclusive activities is a group task and a chance for the group to demonstrate how it is prepared to take care of its members.

Case Study Two: Choosing a special assignment team

This second Case Study features Darryl, the manager, and Chris, the team leader, who are in charge of identifying two people to join three other members on a special assignment that will have company-wide visibility. The three candidates are Sarah, Matthew, and Michael. The conversation between Darryl and Chris goes as follows:

Darryl:

You know, Sarah is a perfect fit. She has excellent skills and she would really make a good addition to the team. Unfortunately, she just recently got married and this assignment is going to require lots of time away from home. I imagine she'll be wanting to start a family very soon. We should take Matthew and Michael. But Sarah is outstanding. What's your view?

Chris:

Here's why I would recommend picking....

(Note: Chris happens to know that Matthew just recently got married as well and Michael is involved in a bitter custody battle.)

Debrief comments:

The most salient feature of this interaction at the interpersonal level is the manner in which Darryl presumes to direct Sarah's energy. According to Darryl, Sarah should spend her energy in starting her family. The other candidates, according to Darryl's way of thinking, will have no problem spending their energy in the service of the company.

At the organizational level, this company is engaged in an ancient (and therefore very difficult to see) micro-inequity. The company's culture expresses the idea that only women are thought to care about family and that women care about family in ways that compete with service to the company. As the example makes clear, both other candidates have concerns about their relationships to their families. One is in the exact same position as Sarah and the other has concerns about custody that may be adversely affected by his work regimen. Chris, as bystander, has an opportunity to bring this problem out into the open in a way that will allow the company to look at ways to make its projects more "family friendly" while not automatically assuming that service to the organization necessarily requires one to neglect family. In addressing this problem, the organization is giving itself an opportunity to make better use of its resources and to grow stronger.

Case Study Three: Refusing an assignment

You are the first woman to take the leadership role in this department. Except for secretarial and service staff, it consists of all men. You have been brought in from another branch of the company located in a different state. Three days into your new position, it comes to your attention that a new client will be visiting the company in two weeks, looking to place a very large order. You assign Raymond, one of your team leaders, to plan the new client's time with the company. It is anticipated that the client will want to talk about the requirements for a contract, tour the plant, and spend some time informally with company officials.

You:

Raymond, I want you to plan the activities for Harriet Stovall's visit with us. She has been designated by her company to decide whether or not to place a large contract with us. I want you to make sure that when she leaves, she will have had a thorough and rewarding visit and that we have met her needs. I am especially concerned that we have some good informal time with her because it's my experience that that's where the deal is cinched.

Raymond:

Certainly. I don't have any problem setting up a plant visit, showing her around the office, and introducing her to our staff. But I have no idea what to do with her after that. I don't think I've ever seen a woman with her kind of authority. Wouldn't you rather take care of that aspect of her visit yourself? I am sure you have those kinds of sensibilities and I am just as sure I don't.

Debrief comments:

Raymond's refusal is an example of Time Abuse in two ways. First, Raymond is telling his boss how she should use her time and he is also saying that she doesn't know how best to manage HIS time. It is unlikely that Raymond would make the same suggestions to a male boss. What would Raymond use to justify such impertinence? Correcting Raymond's behavior will require some additional energy expenditure by the female executive but how much is more or less under her control.

At the organizational level, Raymond is proposing a view of the world in which only whales can criticize (appreciate, deal with. understand) Moby Dick. This view trivializes diversity while seeming to endorse it. Raymond weakens the organization because he would propose that on a team only certain people should acquire the skills sets necessary to handle certain tasks. Ultimately, this approach compartmentalizes employees and works against building strong teams where every member is encouraged to grow new skills or strengthen weak ones.

How do you recognize micro-inequities when they happen?

The STEM abuse model (Space, Time, Energy, and Mobility) categorizes micro-inequities into four types:

Space abuse:

• When your privacy is not respected
• When you are walled out of important meetings and conversations
• When you are excluded from activities

Time abuse:

• When you spend time dealing with your boss who believes that you may be innately unable to perform
• When you must spend more time on projects because you know you will be judged more harshly
• When you find others don't appreciate or accept that your time is valuable

Energy abuse:

• When you must donate your energy to someone else so that they can conserve theirs
• Your energy is regularly siphoned away to other projects not at your own choosing
• Your energy is sapped by invisible barriers, subtle comments, or conflicting messages

Mobility abuse:

• When you are expected routinely to bring things or get things
• When you are required to travel (or remain behind) while others are not
• When you are expected to provide transportation to others

For a definition of micro-inequities or micro-aggression please visit: Third session summary.

The 2006 NW Diversity Learning Series (now in its 9th year) focused on the theme, Building Capacity: Navigating organizational opportunities as if they were a subway system.

Using the metaphor of a subway system, each of the six-bi-monthly morning seminars explored some of the ways that access to organizational opportunities and career development are hidden and therefore more difficult for women and people of color, as well as people who speak English as a second language, to utilize. The purpose of this Series was for everyone to become more aware of organizational culture and how it impacts building people's capacity, and for everyone, managers and employees, to become better at navigating these cultural obstacles along career paths.

For more information about the NW Diversity Learning Series, please visit the Series section of our website.

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