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Prior to September 2022, I would have told you I have faced discrimination many times in my career and I’ve always risen above it.
But the truth is I was naive in thinking that because I had overcome subjective bias and misinformed opinions in my past, that I could also overcome the bias and influence of someone who did little to conceal their complicit bias and spoke with the authority that inclined others to follow.
Having learned the hard way, I now know that when an individual exhibits complicit bias it can trigger and amplify subjective bias in others. Why is discrimination so hard to recognize? Because it's confusing when you're once safe work environment no longer feels safe and your former trusted colleagues begin turning on you.
We'll explore how this happens and what it looks like in more detail below.
Why is discrimination so hard to recognize?
It starts off subtle:
The discriminating individual will make an off-color joke that makes everyone uncomfortable, but no one speaks up and a few laugh politely to avoid making it more awkward.
The discriminating individual insists a more qualified person is not the right person for the role based on subjective reasons rather than performance, but they are persuasive and soon others agree.
In a close working environment, we seek to align with our peers in order to work effectively together. Typically this involves adapting our attitudes and actions based on the individuals around us in order to operate and make decisions cohesively. Unfortunately, this also means if a new peer enters the group exhibiting or expressing complicit bias, it can create a ripple effect that normalizes biased behavior, even among those who have never given any indication that they harbored such views.
This collective reinforcement of bias then makes discrimination much more difficult to identify, especially when that reinforcement is coming from people you trust or respect — your mentors, your advocates, your friends. Like me, the trust you place in these individuals can cloud your judgment, making it difficult to recognize that their actions — or lack of action — are contributing to an unfair or discriminatory environment. As a result, discrimination becomes more insidious as your close bonds with colleagues forces you to question your own perceptions, leading to self-doubt or dismissal of valid concerns.
How can documentation help?
The complexity of these situations and the emotions involved as you reconcile what you believe you know about a person with what their actions indicate makes awareness and vigilance even more important. For me, I continued to believe I was the problem until I wrote down and was faced with the facts. It was only then, through objective documentation that I was able to recognize and accept that those I once trusted had become contributors to the discrimination and retaliation. I had to accept that they were no longer allies and would likely never be again. Perhaps they had unknowingly started down the path and felt they had no other choice, but to defend their actions once they arrived or perhaps they had always been this way and it was a matter of when, not if, their bias would make itself known. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, because once they’ve engaged in the behavior, they are unlikely to ever admit it for the discrimination or retaliation it was.
It’s not easy coming to terms with any of this, but there is relief in no longer having to doubt and question what is happening around you. For me, I could finally see the situation for what it actually was and I could finally identify the individuals who had turned themselves into enemies. I still couldn’t immediately stop the attacks, but at least now I knew where they were coming from.
Once I recognized what was happening, I was able to collect evidence, build my case and retain counsel -- all necessary for protecting my career from the ongoing discrimination and retaliation.
Now we've taken what worked for me and added it to JustiProof - we'll help you take the steps necessary to protect your career from those who would try to steal everything you've worked for.
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