Have You experienced racism at work?

[WhenWhatWhere]

Just wondering how bad this issue of racism in the workplace is.

We all know that there are not enough black, asian and minority ethnic people in board level positions in the work place.

However, I am wondering what sort of racism, be it visible or invisible have you faced at work.

I know this is AIBU, so myAIBU is that there Is more racism in the workplace than we think there is.

i have been shocked to read of a derogatory term being used recently, which i thought had gone out 50+ years ago.
it has been mentioned 3 times on here.
the term coloured is different, because when i was young it was the preferred polite word. still found eg in NAACP organisation.
and i thought people/women of colour was ok. but not coloured people.
is the first not ok now ?

Yep,

So I am half Pakistani, but not Muslim, I am fairly light skinned, most people assume I am Spanish tbh but on occasion when I’ve gone to a friends even and worn a Saree I have experienced racism on the streets. Overt, obviously racism.

However, in work, an RE Teacher! Said to another teacher say next to me ‘what do you call a Paki that doesn’t stink? ... ‘Asif’

She obviously had no clue I was Pakistani. The other teacher didn’t laugh but also didn’t call her out on it. I complained and she was fired thank god.

Yes. I wanted to join to our company’s diversity committee.
I was born and bread abroad (Visible!) and a woman (also quite obvious)
I was told I wasn’t diverse enough! 😳😳😳

Has anyone felt depressed and anxious by the low level racism or microaggressions?

I just find that sometimes people are unwilling to address this type of racism. They deny its existence or have an excuse ready.

We've not had any complaints about other languages being spoken in the office, and it's normal to hear lots of languages being spoken, which I like. Although English is the working language, people as likely to be speaking to customers in the cutomer's language, so I can't imagine they're going to insist on everyone speaking English at all times.

There is racism, though. Years ago, I saw a manager sifting through CVs and discarding names he didn't recognise as properly English, because he wouldn't understand what they say - it wouldn't happen now in that recruitment is now all online, so while they might still reject people for these reasons, it's less likely to be witnessed as with a physical pile of papers, though they might still comment on it, I guess.

Some departments round the organisation are very white, whereas others are much more diverse, and I suspect that is probably down to unconscious bias. (Or maybe conscious bias in one or two cases.) I've also seen anti- German bias, which puzzles me, because if you don't want to work with people from other countries, why did you get a job at the EMEA HQ of a multinational company?

I did report a colleague for using the n-word. I am still a little bitter that he just got told not to do it again, while at the time, I was going through a wrongful disciplinary, which I suspect was as much to do with putting the only woman in her place as anything. But of course, there's no sexism, said manager, when I had given a list of minor examples of how things have a cumulative effect. I expect he thinks any incidents of racism are also people being over-sensitive, too. Having said that, overall, I think we are probably a better organisation to work for in terms of diversity then many others, and as we are far from perfect, I think it must be really depressing with some employers. And there are definitely some departments better than others.

Im not an ethnic minority but this week at work something happened. I work in the EU at a jobcenter and one of the consultants wrote that a restaurant was looking for a kitchen helper. The criteria were xyz and they wont have anyone who wears a hijab. I mentioned it to my colleague who didnt see a problem with it. Her argument - the employer can decide who to employ and can demand a uniform etc etc. I began to question myself. So I looked up the law and sure enough it is illegal.

So I went to my boss and asked what do I do when one of my colleagues does something illegal. She asked for more details and said that she would take care of it with a rather despairing tone. I knew she would because she is awesome, but I was really shocked and dissappointed by my close colleague who couldnt see anything wrong with it.

I don't understand why where were your family from originally is racist or wrong.

It depends - I'm quite happy to sit and talk to people about their family background, where they grew up and so on, because it's often interesting. If it's the first thing you ask someone and then ask, "no, where are you really from?" when they answer Slough/Bristol/York or whatever or express surprise they speak English do well (even it's their first language,) then it's less likely to be from mere human interest and more from racist assumptions. And most people can tell the difference.

I dont know if its racist but its bloody annoying....
I've got an Italian background but born in UK ...very Italian first name and last name . I had a boss around 15 years ago that would, without fail every single morning, call out " Whensa your Dolmio day?" ( it was a silly tv ad at the time with puppets eating spaghetti, you know because clearly that's all we eat )
He was also pervy and creepy so he had many faults !

Xenaphobia rather than racism. I used to have a girl shout potato at me and laugh. She was pig thick though.

Yes, but I have been informed by fellow mumsnetters that it doesn't count because I am white. The small detail that someone who calls me the n-word or something equivalent obviously do not consider me to be white, is apparently beside the point.

So sad to read these. I am sorry things are so shit for so many of us. Bot sure what to do to address it all. It never stops.

@WhenWhatWhere

Has anyone felt depressed and anxious by the low level racism or microaggressions?

I just find that sometimes people are unwilling to address this type of racism. They deny its existence or have an excuse ready.

Yes definitely. I think it was Gina Yasher who described it as, "death by a thousand cuts" racism. It has had a horrible corrosive effect on my self esteem and mental health over time. I tend to "prefer" the more overt racism I've experienced as it's easier to call it out, although having to call it out has its own negative impact too. I don't honestly think it will ever change, in my experience most people only have a very basic understanding of race and trying to explain the nuances in it usually falls on (sometimes intentionally) deaf ears. I would love to see a more expansive curriculum in school focusing on this subject as I think it would really help to start having these difficult conversations earlier on.

I agree wholeheartedly Este67. It needs to start in school and in depth, we cannot skim over the issues related to race.

I feel like I am just a shell. My confidence is dead. I wish I could leave, but have a family to support. I have tried applying for other jobs but don’t even get an interview.

I went to assist a colleague who was having problems with a customer who was trying to access the customer wifi, I tried explaining to the customer that the problem was with his computer, he looked at me and said you English people always lie, I had security deal with him.

A colleague of mine once told a story of how she'd been sitting in her parked car and a man had approached her to ask directions.

She said she'd been afraid because he was "a big black man".

Another colleague once commented that a black celebrity was quite good looking "for a black guy".

This was whilst working for a large local authority with a very diverse workforce.

Personally? From customers, "honky" is popular.
One colleague was called a Chinese Bitch but she was offended because she's actually Filipino.
Another colleague was racially abused for challenging a customer's ticket. He retaliated and I had to lock him in the ticket office to let him calm down (and avoid a lamping from the racist) (ticket offices were open back then).
Years ago we heard of a police officer racially abusing an underground worker. He was sacked.
Generally we get on together fine because we are a diverse workforce but occasionally I call out people's turn of phrase or their assumptions based on religion or culture.

@WhenWhatWhere

I agree wholeheartedly Este67. It needs to start in school and in depth, we cannot skim over the issues related to race.

I feel like I am just a shell. My confidence is dead. I wish I could leave, but have a family to support. I have tried applying for other jobs but don’t even get an interview.

I'm sorry you're feeling this way OP :( It might be worth considering joining your union (if you have one/haven't already) or keeping a log of all the microagressions/passive aggressive incidents and making an official complaint. It also might be useful for you to do that anyway just so you can see you're not going crazy. I'd also suggest counselling/ therapy of some sort, you sound quite low and beaten down and could probably use someone to listen/support you.

A colleague once called a pupil a 'coconut'. Not sure if this was the type of racism you were looking for, but it stuck with me nonetheless as something completely out of order.

Racist comments targetted at whites yes.
Xenophobia from a lady of pakistani origin to Australian, Newzealand coleagues. (Perhaps not racism as she didn,t have a prob with me.)
Also another lady who was a bully, everyone said the reason she wasn,t fired was because she would play the race card. (She was Egyption. ) And she would have done, that was nothing to do with her race that was because she was a nasty bit of work.

Not directly, I'm second generation mixed so most people don't realise I have African heritage especially now I don't have an African surname (that was hard work for 30 years..) but racism has been present in every workplace I've had. Most recent examples are a contact centre where if you're white you can get promoted to a cozy back office job but very capable non-white people continuosly knocked back for no reason I can see. You're more likely to be on a disciplinary or 'monitored' if you're non white. More likely to be agency or fixed term contract.

These things in isolation easy to explain away but if you take a step back and look at it something is wrong.

My husband had to interview people at his work and one man was of African descent with a forename that could have been a surname. The panel argued for ages between themselves which was his first name and surname when my husband pointed out that the guy had a master's degree in engineering so had more than likely put his correct name in the box!

The sad thing is that companies often focus on punishing overtly racist people, and while that needs to be done it doesn't excuse them being completely blind to the systemic stuff which is just as bad.

And yes a lot of comments made about travellers. One was because of an illegal settlement which really wound everyone up, but it then turns into generalisations aimed at all travellers. Something goes missing "It,s the pikeys". People worried about others looking into gardens. It,s the travellers). But Chanel 5 has a lot to answer for regarding this.

Yes I hate racism against travellers too. Especially when it's great being a hipster in a renovated transit van but if you're a traveller then everyone is up in arms. As if marginalising people is going to help with genuine problems that might arise.

That's why non-white annoys me as an alternative for BAME because there are white minority ethnicities, also including fair skinned people of mixed heritage. It's not to say their experience is the same but recognising that there are likely to be racial challenges.

I've encountered it. As an Irish person, lots of jokes at my expense. Do I eat a lot of potatoes, drink a lot etc. And strange assumptions, all Irish people play musical instruments or dance apparently. And they are a bit stupid.

I had a Muslim colleague who told me it wouldn't be acceptable for her kids to go out with someone English or Irish like me. If they married, she would disown them apparently.

A boss I had who was a black man used to accuse me of being racist towards him because I was white. Literally I was a “silly white girl” who apparently hated him because he was black and in the process of doing my job I was racist towards him for... doing my job.

He was someone who decided that every minor thing he didn’t like (in any situation) was because the other person was racist towards him. Funnily enough I left (that also made me a racist in his eyes).