What is a microinequity?

A microinequity is a small, subtle event that demeans, discourages, devalues or marginalizes an employee’s efforts at work. The individual is ignored or singled out at work in a negative way. The result is that the person may feel it’s not worth their time to try hard at work or that they’re incapable of performing well. 

The term microinequity was first coined in 1973 by MIT Professor Mary Rowe. She defined microinequities as “apparently small events which are often ephemeral and hard-to-prove, events which are covert, often unintentional, frequently unrecognized by the perpetrator, which occur wherever people are perceived to be ‘different.'”

Microinequities can be messages or actions and can be unconscious or purposeful. In some cases, they can come from a place of prejudice when someone holds racist, sexist and bigoted beliefs. 

As these events are so small, often the recipients won’t even recognize they’re happening or the unconscious negative impact it’s having on them. 

Microinequities are conveyed through facial expressions, gestures, words and tone. 

Some examples of microinequities are:

• Constantly forgetting or mispronouncing a person’s name 
• “Mansplaining” or “manterrupting”  
• Rolling eyes when someone speaks 
• Using a phone to text or email when someone is having a conversation with you 
• Using inappropriate nicknames, like calling women “dear” or “honey” 
• Assigning tasks based on “traditional gender roles,” such as asking women to get coffee for the meeting 
• Interrupting, talking over or ignoring employees repeatedly, especially if they’re from a marginalized group 
• Assigning “easier” tasks to marginalized groups (implying they can’t handle hard work) 
• Giving advancement opportunities only to non-marginalized groups, such as white males 

Microinequity vs. microaggression

Most people are a lot more familiar with the term “microaggression,” but it’s important to understand that microinequities and microaggressions aren’t the same. A microinequity is a comment or action that negatively impacts a specific individual. In comparison, microaggressions are comments and actions that negatively impact and target a marginalized group of people. 

In the workplace, a microinequity can be constantly mispronouncing an employee’s name. A microaggression would be complaining about how certain cultures have difficult to pronounce names. 

Why do microinequities matter?

Just because these events are “micro” doesn’t mean they aren’t damaging. Whether the employee realizes they’re happening or not, microinequities add up and cause an employee to doubt their abilities. In some instances, microinequities can even lead to the employee resigning. 

To sum up, microinequities can have a significant impact on the workplace, including:

• Causing a previously excellent employee to start performing worse 
• Having the rest of the team be impacted because they have to pick up the slack 
• Causing discomfort in team members who witness the microinequities but don’t know how to stop them 
• An increase in resignations, resulting in a higher turnover rate 
• Incurring additional costs to the business as employees have to be replaced, which can be expensive if market rates for that position have gone up 

How to identify and stop microinequities

1. Educate your employees on what a microinequity is

As an employer, you’ll need to rely on your team to help identify when microinequities occur. You cannot be everywhere all the time, so you can’t always be there to witness these incidents when they happen. Instead, it’s essential to educate employees on what microinequities are so they can learn to spot them when they’re happening to themselves or others. Hold a training session to educate employees on microinequities and the harm they can do. 

2. Empower employees to speak up

After educating employees on this subject, it’s time to empower them. Employees should feel comfortable and safe reporting cases of microinequities to upper management. Foster a culture that will listen when people report instances of microinequities and take immediate action to resolve the issue. 

3. Encourage employees to problem solve colleague-to-colleague

You can also help employees learn how to cope with microinequities independently. While employees should always feel that they can speak up to management, it’s sometimes easier to resolve these minor issues less formally. As mentioned, some people say or do a microinequity without realizing it. In this situation, just pointing it out to the individual can help them recognize their actions and learn from their mistakes. A first transgression might not be something the recipient will want to bring up to management. 

4. Foster a bragging culture 

Microinequities are not the fault of the person receiving them. However, someone experiencing microinequities can spiral into deeper feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome if something doesn’t change. Employees should be encouraged to address microinequities when they happen by confronting the person or bringing it up to management. 

In addition to confronting these negative instances, building a company culture that encourages sharing wins at work can be incredibly helpful. When employees cheer themselves on and share their “wins” with coworkers, they become more confident in their professional accomplishments. This healthy “bragging” at work can help counteract the negative impact of any microinequities. 

Consider adding to your weekly or monthly team meetings a moment where everyone is asked to “brag” about a recent work accomplishment. 

5. Preventing future microinequities 

Preventing future microinequities at work really starts with your organization’s culture. If you can build a healthy, inclusive culture where workers build each other up and confront inexcusable actions, you’ll have a happier team. One way you can battle microinequities is by simply introducing the opposite concept into the workspace: micro affirmations. 

Micro affirmations are words and actions that convey inclusion and positively impact individuals. Examples of micro affirmations are nods of recognition, facial expressions, tones that communicate caring and listening and positive words. These are all such small actions but can help make employees feel more comfortable, accepted and happier at work. 

As the saying goes, change starts at the top, so it’s essential that management is trained on micro affirmations. Then, management can incorporate regular micro affirmations into their interactions with team members. And this “lead by example” strategy means that more employees begin to use micro affirmations when interacting with each other. 

Microinequities hurt your organization

Even if an individual doesn’t consciously know they have a habit of microinequities at work, they could negatively impact several employees. Companies should understand that these “minor” infractions can have long standing consequences on employee productivity and output, corporate culture and turnover rates. 

As a leader, know that just because you’ve never witnessed a microinequity doesn’t mean it’s not happening. All businesses should be proactive and start working on a more inclusive culture by tackling issues like microinequities before they become a rampant problem. It’s a valiant step your employees will appreciate.