Beyond Exclusion: When Inequity Becomes Erasure
Our increasingly polarizing workplace climate is something far more insidious than simple exclusion. As diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives face coordinated resistance, we're witnessing not just the rejection of people and perspectives, but their systematic erasure from professional spaces.
For example, MSNBC reported in July of this year that 300,000 Black women involuntarily left the workforce. This erasure doesn't just affect individual careers, it fundamentally limits our collective potential, innovation capacity, and social progress.
If you've ever experienced being systematically overlooked in meetings, had your ideas attributed to others, or made to feel that your authentic self is unwelcome, then you've felt the early stages of this erasure. These aren't isolated incidents or simple misunderstandings. They represent the first steps in a process that ultimately removes diverse perspectives from decision-making tables and diminishes the richness of the human experience that should inform our work.
The workplace is where many of us spend the majority of our waking hours, build meaningful relationships, and seek personal fulfillment. When inequities go unchecked, they do more than harm the individual, they undermine organizational success and contribute to broader divisions in society.
How Inequities Manifest in “Normal” Behaviors
Inequities often operate within the status quo disguised as judgement calls or “just how we do things”. Behaviors may be subtle or overt, but their impact is consistently harmful. How many of these have you witnessed?
Demanding perfection from some while excusing mediocrity from others who share identical background or perspectives
Building inner circles of influence and authority with individuals who mirror the same identities and viewpoints
Publicly supporting inclusion while privately undermining it
Refusing to acknowledge perspectives that challenge personal worldviews
Subtly (or not so subtly) penalizing anyone who doesn't conform to a personal or the standard definition of "professional"
Actively undermining efforts to create more equitable systems and norms
Labeling those who raise concerns as "divisive" or "political"
Holding marginalized individuals to impossible standards while overlooking similar behaviors in others
Suggesting that creating opportunities for some means taking them from others
Attributing personal failures to lowered standards or inclusion initiatives
The Ripple Effect of Exclusion
When we allow these behaviors to persist, we're contributing to broader societal problems that can:
Perpetuate systemic inequalities that extend far beyond office walls
Validate harmful stereotypes and prejudices
Silence important perspectives needed for innovation and problem-solving
Create psychological damage that affects mental health, families, and communities
Normalize discrimination in ways that spread to other social contexts
Moving From Awareness to Action
Recognizing our own exclusionary behaviors is just the beginning. True change requires active commitment:
Acknowledge your privilege and blind spots. We all have them, regardless of our background
Listen without defensiveness. When someone shares their experience of inequality, trust them
Speak up when you witness prejudicial or discriminatory acts. Silence is interpreted as agreement
Examine your inner circle. Who do you naturally include, and who might you be overlooking?
Seek education independently. Don't rely on historically marginalized colleagues to be your teachers
Challenge "traditional" practices. Many seemingly neutral workplace norms have discriminatory roots
Measure your impact, not your intentions. Good intentions don't negate harmful effects
The Danger of Neutrality
Perhaps the most important realization in today's climate is that there is no neutral position on inclusion. When we choose NOT to actively support inclusive practices, we are tacitly supporting the system that has marginalized groups for centuries. By choosing inaction, we become unwitting accomplices to this regression.
NOTE: Just because you are not among the groups being erased, does not mean that erasure won’t affect you in the long run.