No one likes to be discriminated against, especially at the workplace, and all that more if the grounds of discrimination can be traced to the race of the particular person. Racial discrimination or racism at the workplace can be termed as one of the many evils that banes modern day offices. As much we would like to believe that racism is a thing of the past, it is not and still has a very unwanted presence in workplaces all over the world. It may not be too common in an office, which plays host to people belonging to the same race or closely related races. Racial discrimination however sure reveals its ugly head in offices or companies that play host to people belonging to different countries and races. People are denied promotions, are singled out, looked down upon, and laughed at. All this only because the victims belong to a race that is less ‘superior’ to the one their harassers belong to. Take the time and read on to know how to effectively handle racial discrimination at the workplace.
Handling Racial Discrimination At The Workplace
Judge The Scenario
The first thing to do before resorting to taking steps on handling racial discrimination at work is to ‘judge the scenario’. Make efforts to determine if you are being discriminated against only because you belong to a certain race. You don’t want to point fingers at a colleague because of your own paranoia. This is only because at times people believe they are being discriminated against because of the race they belong to, in reality however, this may not be the case. This is exactly why it is so important to judge the scenario and determine where your ‘discriminator’ is coming from. Do your research, ask around, and judge various scenarios to zero in on a colleague or a group of colleagues you believe are guilty of racial discrimination.
Maintain Records
Once you are sure about the fact that you are being racially discriminated against, start taking steps to get the better of your discriminators. Keep a record of the instances of racial discrimination and the nature of the same. Don’t be juvenile when noting down instances of discrimination, instead take a note of instances that you are sure will get your harassers in trouble. As tough as it may seem, you will also have to make some serious efforts to garner favorable physical evidence of the crimes against you. This will help especially when you present your case to the concerned authorities.
Confront
Before escalating the issue, get your nerves together and confront colleagues or the superiors you believe have been racially discriminating against you. This may not be an easy thing to do, especially when your superiors are involved, but to ensure peaceful co-existence what has to be done, simply has to be done. When initiating confrontation, you will have to make it a point to do so in private and peacefully too. You don’t want to be caught in the heat of a verbal battle with your colleagues or superiors. Strive to make them see how you feel, empathize with you and realize the consequences of their actions.
Escalate
Most people are afraid to speak up when facing the brunt of racism at the workplace. It may not be easy to speak up against your discriminators or point fingers at them, but it still has to be done. You will have to approach your management and present your case. If the management fails to take any action against your ‘harassers’, you can always seek out the help of external agencies or even approach the police. No matter who you complain to, the point here is to not suffer in silence.
Most people are afraid to speak up when facing the brunt of racism at the workplace. It may not be easy to speak up against your discriminators or point fingers at them, but it still has to be done. You will have to approach your management and present your case. If the management fails to take any action against your ‘harassers’, you can always seek out the help of external agencies or even approach the police. No matter who you complain to, the point here is to not suffer in silence.
