The Small Exclusions That Happen in a Noninclusive Culture

To build an inclusive culture, observe your team for small exclusions.

Small exclusions generally happen when someone assumes something about someone based on their gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.

Small exclusions might include:

Repeatedly interrupting a woman or minority (assuming they don’t have a lot to say)

Not offering mentoring to a woman or minority (assuming they’d get better help from someone who looks like them)

Putting women in “secretary” roles in meetings (assuming that they are suited to that role)

Time for a quiz.

Which of the following common occurrences might be a small exclusion?

Quiz 1 of 1

Which of the following might be a small exclusion?

a

A man is chosen to lead a project over a less-experienced female colleague.

b

A coworker repeatedly goes to a male colleague with questions a female colleague could answer.

c

A female colleague is loudly berated by a manager in front of the entire team.

d

A man on your team doesn’t hang out with coworkers after hours.

Answer B: A coworker repeatedly goes to a male colleague with questions a female colleague could answer.

This is common — women are often not treated like experts, even if they are.

It’s impossible to build a comprehensive list of small exclusions that might happen at work.

But we’ve put together a list of common ones that happen to women in the workplace.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP:

Think about your own behavior. Have you ever unconsciously left someone out because of their gender or minority status?

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