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What Does Whiteness Mean to You?
Because whiteness is synergistic with dominant culture, many of the attributes of whiteness are the default in workplaces, media and dominant society. Whiteness is often the lens for what we determine to be acceptable, professional or natural. From the default Band-Aid color being peach to match white skin tone to the lack of hair product for afro-textured hair, whiteness is everywhere.
In my interview with Dr. Janice Gassam Asare, author of the book Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace, she said “Whiteness is centered even when it (whiteness) is not present.” It is a part of the dominant cultural norms and internalized beliefs of what is acceptable and not acceptable, with whiteness as the standard. Over 70% of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practitioners are white. Gassam Asare laments, “Even when we create new spaces for DEI, we center whiteness.”
When we start with an intersectional approach to allyship, we likely make it better for a larger collection of people. The curb-cut effect refers to when cut curbs for folks in wheelchairs, bike riders, people with strollers and others with limited mobility also benefit others, allowing all people to more easily access sidewalks. The same rings true for addressing the deepest systemic barriers for the most marginalized communities.
There are three systems in the workplace that allies can leverage to help decenter whiteness:
- Hiring
- Succession planning
- Meetings
Decentering Whiteness in Hiring
Gassam Asare shared, “The problem with the anti-DEI propaganda right now is that it focuses on a zero-sum game.” When people think that white people will be deprioritized in hiring processes, it leads to a false win-lose dichotomy. When you increase the diversity of the pool of candidates, organizations generally find stronger candidates. Diversity is a win-win.
Gassam Asare recommends applicant-tracking systems to hold leaders accountable for increasing the pool of diversity in candidate selection. Without objective criteria, systemic bias can creep in. Having a rubric with objective data based on skills, behaviors or attributes for success can help reduce bias. Also, to reduce bias in the hiring process, consider a situational activity that mimics a real-life scenario in the job. Give the candidate a chance to solve a problem or demonstrate skills versus relying on people who likely have bias to assess those skills on paper.
Decentering Whiteness in Succession Planning
Succession planning is the process by which organizations plan promotions, stretch opportunities and career paths for employees. Gassam Asare recommends these reflection questions before succession-planning discussions:
- Who are our high-potential employees?
- Who is in a development program?
- What does a leader look like?
- What does professionalism look like?
Then reflect on how the answers are different, and how they are similar. If your answers skewed to whiteness, that's not uncommon. Often because whiteness is the default, high-potential development programs, leadership positions and professionalism are based on whiteness.
In succession-planning conversations, it's important to amplify the voices of people not in the room. Widen your social circles so that you can be a better ally to people of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. Be careful of the potential-versus-performance bias in which people are likely to associate whiteness with potential but assess non-whiteness based on actual performance. Affinity bias—the “like-me bias” —also contributes to more white people being promoted and given stretch opportunities due to the proximity to power (85% of C-suite roles are occupied by white people).
Make Meetings Inclusive
Workplace systems like meetings were built by white people for them to succeed. They're less likely to be inclusive of others with dimensions of difference. Inclusive meetings have three key ingredients: they have a clear purpose, they are highly interactive and they end with accountability. Yet rarely are all three of these traits present. If you want more inclusive meetings, consider:
- Paying attention to who is speaking and not speaking
- Watching out for harmful non-inclusive behavior toward groups of people
- Being mindful of meeting formats that include all people in discussions
White people tend to have more airtime in meetings, make most decisions and are more likely to interrupt and speak over others. That means that people of color are less likely to participate and contribute to meeting outcomes, which holds everyone back. You’re not getting the best ideas or solutions if some people don't feel psychologically safe to surface them in meetings.
The concept of whiteness is challenging to define, as it is intertwined with the dominant culture, shaping norms in workplaces, media and society. To be a better ally to people of color in the workplace, look for flaws in workplace systems that were designed by white people. Challenge bias in hiring, succession planning and meetings to decenter whiteness.
