Why should you think twice before reporting racial discrimination to HR? (Continued)

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

1. Ask Yourself If It's Truly Racial Discrimination
All people of color have an internal racism radar. For some, it's turned all the way up so that they see racial conspiracy around every corner. For others, it's turned all the way down so that they are in denial about how racism affects their lives. For most of us, it's somewhere in-between.

Before you take any action, ask yourself if you are sure that you’re being discriminated against because of your race. Does your supervisor treat other people of your racial or ethnic group poorly too? Or does she only pick on you? Could there be other reasons you’re being passed over for raises or promotions? Are your colleagues better situated in terms of performance, education, experience, or skills? Are they better at cultivating relationships with the boss or making their accomplishments known? Is it a personality issue? Could it be that you’re just not well-liked by your coworkers?

You don’t want to be known as the little boy who cried wolf. So be brutally honest with yourself and face your flaws. If after this thorough self-analysis you still believe that you’re experiencing racial discrimination, then you should take action.

2. Document Everything In Detail
You want to be able to prove a pattern of discriminatory behavior, so start a log to document the evidence. You should try to collect two types of items: evidence of racial prejudice on the part of your supervisor, and evidence of discrimination against you. For each item, be sure to include the date, time, a description of what occurred, and who else was around to witness the behavior.

If your supervisor makes racist jokes or comments, that is clear evidence of racial prejudice. But subtler comments could be compelling evidence too. For example, if your supervisor equates diversifying the company’s workforce with lowering hiring standards, he probably believes that whites are inherently more qualified than non-whites. Striking differences between the way your supervisor treats white employees versus employees of color would be compelling evidence too.

When it comes to evidence of discrimination against you, note down discriminatory patterns in salaries, promotions, project assignments, and overtime allocation. Also note instances where your supervisor excludes you from important meetings or credits other people with your work or ideas.

 

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