Why microaggressions could send women off the glass cliff

microaggressions/ˈmʌɪkrəʊəˌɡrɛʃ(ə)n/ noun, plural noun: 

1. a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalised group such as a racial or ethnic minority.

If you’ve ever been exposed to microaggressions then you may have come away from a conversation feeling belittled or uneasy. Yet you might also shrug off your experience as ‘nothing’ and question whether your feelings or reactions are valid. 

The pervasive and often ‘difficult to detect’ nature of microaggressions means they persist in social contexts. Over time, exposure to microaggressions has a cumulative effect and can impact a person's emotional and psychological well-being – verbal and non-verbal slights can diminish someone’s sense of self-worth and erode their confidence 

“Absolutely, microaggressions become normalised,” says Fiona Hurd, associate professor at the School of Marketing and International Business at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). 

This is an area that requires significant cultural change, and Hurd says it can come in the form of regular feedback, for instance, from other senior leaders and direct reports, according to Hurd, who says making room for feedback to leaders allows them to show some vulnerability – and own their mistakes.

“We all make mistakes and have all been guilty of making assumptions about another person. So if you find yourself doing that, you should own up to it and say, that wasn't good enough and I expect more of myself,” she says.  

Providing feedback can take place through one-on-one conversations, calling out the behaviour in a board context or post-meeting, through board evaluations, or in the context of an employment situation, via peer-to-peer or performance reviews, which will all contribute to a safe environment to operate in. It can also mean telling someone in-the-moment that their behaviour isn’t appropriate. 

But the longer microaggressions persist and go unreported, the more dangerous it is for the person exposed to it, “as it starts to become part of the social fabric within that environment”.  

“It signals to anyone who is a target that this is not somewhere they belong, and that person will then feel they can't make a mistake, speak out, or take action.” 

Hurd says once this happens, it becomes increasingly difficult for “individuals to act on it”. 

If you’re unsure of what microaggressions look like, or want to identify whether you’re demonstrating the behaviour, Hurd says it’s in how we communicate. 

“We often hear women leaders reporting that if they're upset by something in a meeting, they're often told they're being too emotional and irrational; that they're too sensitive and need to develop resilience,” she says.  

Conversely, men are taken more seriously and are also more likely to be praised for standing up and speaking out and having their voices heard, compared to women who are interrupted in meetings twice as often than men. 

Hurd says this sends a negative message that undermines the value of their work, and their voice. 

“It says their opinion is not as valuable, and that this isn't really a place for them,” Hurd says.  

What potentially waits on the other side of that is what is referred to as ‘the glass cliff’ where women get to the top of their career – or finally have access to their dream job – only to feel it wasn’t worth it or what they expected and ultimately end up vacating their roles. 

“Those microaggressions come into it – being talked over in meetings or being given a whole lot of tasks that aren't really high value . . . all become too much. 

“We can see this happening for women leaders and, in particular, women leaders of colour or other minorities who have a much higher rate of burnout and report a much higher rate of stress as a result,” Hurd says.