PAM RACANSKY, M.A. DIRECTOR FOR DIVERSITY & INCLUSION “A lie told often enough becomes the truth” - Lenin

BOUNDARIES When you think of the word boundary…. In one word or two, what do you think of?

PAM - BOOKENDS

BOUNDARIES How do you know a boundary has been crossed?

The pen is mightier than the sword…. Stop, Pause, Go

MICROAGGRESSIONS Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religious beliefs, ability, etc.

Microassaults: Conscious and intentional actions or slurs, such as using racial epithets, displaying swastikas or deliberately serving a white person before a person of color in a restaurant. Microinsults: Verbal and nonverbal communications that subtly convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person’s racial heritage or identity. An example is an employee who asks a colleague of color how she got her job, implying she may have landed it through an affirmative action or quota system. Microinvalidations: Communications that subtly exclude, negate or nullify the thoughts, feelings or experiential reality of a person of color. For instance, white people often ask Asian-Americans where they were born, conveying the message that they are perpetual foreigners in their own land.

“But you look so Aryan… you so would have made it through the holocaust!” “Wow you look so Mexican in this picture! You look so much better now!” “You got a C in Precalculus I ? You’re Asian! You should have gotten an A!” “Bisexual? Should be ‘trysexual’. They’ll try anything as long as it feels good, you know? It’s like, where does it end? Just stick to one, either men or women. One second it’s men, then it’s both, then it’s animals and children.”

WHAT ARE STEREOTYPES? Stereotypes are a set of attributes ascribed to a group and its members For example: Men = good at math, aggressive, ambitious, dominant, etc. Women = bad at math, communal, affectionate, helpful, nice, etc. What problems do stereotypes introduce? Overgeneralizations about how groups are Expectations about how groups should be

Stereotype Threat: A disruptive concern, when facing a negative stereotype, that one will be evaluated based on the negative stereotype. (Steele & Aronson, 1995)

STEREOTYPE THREAT Can ultimately undermine interest and performance in stereotype-relevant fields (e.g., Spencer et al., 1999; Steele & Aronson, 1995; Quinn & Spencer, 2001) “A lie told often enough becomes the truth” - Lenin

GENDER GAP IN STEM CULTURAL STEREOTYPE: “WOMEN CAN’T DO MATH” When the test is diagnostic, women under-perform; when the test is “non-diagnostic,” women and men perform equally well When women take math test in all-male class, they under-perform; when they are well-represented, they perform as well as men

Asking for gender after (compared to before) the AP Calculus exam led females to pass the test at about a 6% higher rate, changing the passing rate advantage enjoyed by men from 16% to 5% The researchers reasoned that if gender and ethnicity were routinely recorded after, rather than before, the AP exam, 16.7% more young women would start college each year with calculus credit and have better admissions prospects.

WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP?

STEREOTYPE THREAT MECHANISMS Anxiety (a little is good; too much is not) Decreased working memory capacity (i.e., hard to focus/exert self-control)

TASK FRAMING: NUMBER OF STROKES HIGHER NUMBERS = WORSE PERFORMANCE

SO, JUST DISCONFIRM THE STEREOTYPE, RIGHT? “I SAY GOODBYE STEREOTYPE!!!!”

POSITIVE STEREOTYPES CAN LEAD TO STEREOTYPE THREAT TOO!!!!

STEREOTYPE THREAT PRECONDITIONS Stereotype exists (widely known) Person identifies with it Task/test is difficult Note: Individuals do not have to believe the stereotype for it to affect performance

STEREOTYPE THREAT UNDERMINES INTEREST IN CAREERS Cheryan, Plaut, Davies, & Steele (2009)

WHAT ARE SOLUTIONS?

WHAT INTERVENTIONS WORK? Break the stereotype-identity link (e.g., (Davies, Spencer, & Steele, 2005) There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the issue of gender-based differences in leadership and problem-solving ability; however, research has revealed absolutely no gender differences in either ability on this particular task. Foster belongingness (Walton & Cohen, 2011; Walton & Cohen, 2007) What can you change in the environment?

WHAT INTERVENTIONS WORK? Expected and actual representation (e.g., Inzlicht& Ben-Zeev, 2000; Murphy, Steele, & Gross, 2007; Sekaquaptewa, Waldman, & Thompson, 2007) In the organization in general At the top in particular Role models Successful in group role models share a common group characteristic (e.g., race, gender) with the target and are seen as people to be emulated (Marx & Roman, 2002) Why successful: Role models serve to represent the group, reducing the burden on individuals to do so (Marx et al., 2005)

IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST (IAT) (UNCONSCIOUS BIAS)

WHAT INTERVENTIONS WORK? MINDSET MATTERS! Fixed Mindset Skills and intelligence are a fixed Nature determines who were are Basic aim should be to demonstrate competence Fixed feedback: “Good job. You’re so smart!” Growth mindset Skills and intelligence can be improved upon Nurture determines who we are Basic aim should be to develop competence Growth feedback: “Good job. You must have tried really hard!”

“OPENING THE FRONT DOOR” Observe: Describe clearly what you see happening Think: State what you think about it. Feel: Express your feelings about the situation Desire: Assert what you would like to happen

ACCOMPLICE VS ALLY Noun: a person who helps another commit a crime Indigenous perspective “We”; not temporary; not “saviors”; not tokenizing; Get your hands dirty CALL IT OUT, name it, forgive yourself (if you make a mistake) and move on Silence communicates tacit approval. Don’t freeze!

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, DOING WHAT YOUR DO, AND FOR WHAT YOU WILL DO. Pam Racansky Office 2354D down from the President, by Student Development Services

REFERENCES microaggressions-essay microaggressions-essay Star Wars