A Research Paper By Ricky Koo, Leadership & Communication Coach, UNITED STATES
Different Personas in the Workplace
We all have different personas that show up depending on what type of situation or environment we’re in. It’s rare that someone shows up exactly the same across multiple different scenarios and environments. However, when it comes to minority groups (e.g. [1]BIPOC, [2]LGBTQ+), having these different personas can weigh heavily on their mental and emotional health in the workplace, while possibly having a significant negative impact on their growth and development as compared to their non-minority peers.
Minorities, Code Switching, and the Authenticity Gap
Over the years, minorities have been conditioned to “code-switch” in many situations in order to survive or even exist safely and freely. By definition, code-switching is a linguistic practice of “alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation” (Wikipedia). From a cultural standpoint, code-switching represents“ways in which a member of an underrepresented group (consciously or unconsciously) adjusts their language, syntax, grammatical structure, behavior, and appearance to fit into the dominant culture” (BetterUp). This creates what is referred to as the authenticity gap—when people, particularly minorities, do not feel comfortable or safe showing up exactly as who they are in the workplace. In a study done by BetterUp on authenticity[3] among employees who identified as People of Color (POC) compared to White employees, the findings were astounding. The authenticity gap (hesitation in showing up authentically as themselves) in the workplace for White employees was 16% whereas for Latinx, Asian, and Black employees, that authenticity gap jumps up to 18%-24%. More so, the disparity is worse among LGBTQ+ employees of color. Only 21% of LGBTQ+ employees of color feel comfortable being themselves in their work lives, which means their authenticity gap skyrockets to 79%.
It’s no coincidence that code-switching exists heavily in minority groups—because largely, the systems set in place in society were designed for, and cater towards, predominantly non-minority people. Taking the corporate world as an example, traditional “white collar” jobs are dominated by individuals who are perceived as highly professional, with strong leadership and influencing skills. At the same time, studies have shown that non-minority groups including women of color are more prone to being perceived as unprofessional or unfit[4], based on judgment based on something as deeply personal as hair. Although there is no doubt that minority groups possess the same professional, leadership, and influential skills, as their non-minority counterparts, this false perception stems from a deeply rooted history of discrimination and racism in the USA between different ethnicities. Though there is now more diversity amongst corporate jobs in various industries—as you go up the figurative “corporate ladder” into leadership positions, that gap between minority groups and non-minority groups is still very apparent. According to data from human resources consulting company Mercer, 64% of workers in entry-level positions are white. In the top executive ranks, however, 85% of positions are held by white people, demonstrating the promotion gap that minorities face. What creates this gap?
Personas in the Workplace: The Leadership Gap
Similar to the Authenticity Gap, another gap that exists is the Leadership Gap in many corporations. This is the vast difference in accessibility to leadership roles for minorities, compared to their non-minority counterparts. In fact, a Bloomberg study found that White men and women are 154% more likely than Asians to hold an executive role. According to 2012 data, Asians represent only 1.5% of corporate officer positions in the Fortune 500. This Leadership Gap for minorities exists because of various factors, some of which include a lack of resources for under-represented communities, legacy/generational wealth and connections benefiting primarily non-minority groups, and many more. At the core of it, this gap exists because of how many of our processes and systems that were set up a long time ago, just didn’t have diversity in mind. They were designed with the predominant ethnicity or predominant “persona” in mind, which naturally creates a barrier for minorities when they have to navigate through these systems and processes that were not designed with them in mind. Over time as the world and our culture evolved, the systems and processes have not evolved as quickly to keep up with the rapid change, which further widens the gap. In the corporate world, non-minority employees typically benefit more than their minority counterparts because they have historical context, resources, and mechanisms to maneuver through those promotion tracks and they are able to meet expectations with less disruption because those processes were designed with them in mind as the default persona.
In order to cope with this gap, minorities have learned and adapted to different methodologies to have more of a chance and have a seat at the table. By and large, one of the more common tactics that minorities use to accomplish this, is by code switching. That is, they change and adjust their natural/default behaviors, thoughts, or ways of showing up, simply to fit in more and be perceived as more professional or more capable.
Why Minority Groups Code Switch:
- Fear of fulfilling negative stereotypes: Minority groups have a lot of negative stereotypes that are harmful to how they are perceived as a community or group. A large part of why minorities code-switch in the workplace is to avoid being categorized or perceived as fulfilling these negative stereotypes.
- To feel a sense of belonging: It is human nature to want to feel as though we belong. Especially in the workplace, where we spend most of our days every single week. When a minority employee shows up in a space where they are the odd one out, it is almost instinctive to try and blend in because that is safer and it causes less discomfort (or, in many cases, perceived discomfort) for others.
- Because we were taught to: I’ve personally witnessed and experienced [5]microaggressions happen frequently across work and life. In the workplace, these microaggressions often stem from non-minority employees directed at, or in the presence of, minority employees. Over time, these verbal and nonverbal cues aimed at minority employees begin to diminish their existence and introduce feelings of doubt, guilt, and even shame with one’s identity. As a result, minority employees are conditioned to code-switch because it serves as a coping mechanism when faced with situations of microaggressions.
Unfortunately, the more someone’s code switches, the farther away they get from who they truly are as a person. If someone is constantly code-switching in the workplace and adjusting their natural behavior, appearance, demeanor, and more—they become a version so far from the real them, that it becomes difficult to reconcile. It creates immense internal conflict and in some instances, self-hate and self-doubt. It erodes a sense of identity over time. So if we imagine that you start with a full tank of energy at work, and each time you have to catch yourself and adjust/question your every behavior, way of appearing, or natural demeanor, that drains your energy tank quickly. On a daily basis as minorities are having to constantly reconcile between their “true selves” and their “adjusted selves”, their energy tanks naturally run low much quicker than their counterparts who may not feel the need to do that as much. Over time, the constant draining of their energy tanks compared to their counterparts adds up significantly, and it creates a gap where minority colleagues are having to constantly make up for, or “catch up” to, their non-minority counterparts just to sustain.
How Leaders and Businesses Can Help Close the Authenticity Gap:
- Research, listen, learn: It can already be exhausting for minority employees to have to reconcile and switch between their “true selves” and their “adjusted selves”. Requesting or asking minority employees to lead efforts and educate their non-minority counterparts or leaders, adds even more burden to this already complex and difficult situation. Instead, leaders can leverage their minority counterparts but not necessarily expect them to have to lead the effort towards closing this gap. Leaders should put in the time and energy towards researching on their own, listening to the situations that minority employees experience, and learning different methods that could be effective in closing this gap. Leaders and businesses play a key role in creating spaces that genuinely welcome this type of discussion and openly acknowledge that this is a problem worth addressing. At the end of the day, knowing the problem exists isn’t enough. What matters more is for leaders and businesses to proactively work towards addressing this issue and introducing more open conversation around closing this authenticity gap for their teams and companies. That takes tremendous time, energy, and commitment.
- Provide resources for minority employees: Simply by listening and learning, already begins to build a foundation of trust between minority employees and non-minority employees. However, that is not enough. Because many of our existing systems and processes are antiquated and not designed with diversity in mind, there is a need now more than ever to actively develop new resources and pathways for minority groups to thrive just like their non-minority counterparts. Companies that invest (both time and money) in elevating their diversity and providing resources for minority groups within their companies typically experience higher revenue growth than competitors.
- Continue to evolve: One of the major pitfalls of leaders and businesses is failing to evolve with the world as it changes rapidly year after year. More specifically, what got us into this situation with such a large authenticity gap is that leaders and businesses did not commit to changing their existing norms and processes, even though the world has significantly changed with much more diversity and information available at our fingertips. The key to being able to sustain a team and scale a business is evolving. Not only by changing how we do business but by evolving our mindset and by challenging our own existing ways of operating. When we start being more curious about evolving and growing, our team members and business naturally follow with more growth.
The good thing is that with more research and data around this authenticity gap, there has been progress made. Diversity has been brought to the forefront in many corporations and teams over the past 5 years. It is on a lot of leaders’ minds and corporations are finally investing time, energy, and money towards closing this gap. Primarily because it is the right thing to do to drive more equity. But also largely because corporations now understand that diversity helps businesses grow and thrive in ways that they wouldn’t otherwise. In a study done by global management consulting firm McKinsey, corporations identified as more diverse and inclusive are 35% more likely to have financial returns that outperform their competitors. Moreover, employees are expecting leaders to focus on diversity now more than ever. In fact, from a survey done by popular company review website Glassdoor, “more than 3 out of 4 job seekers and employees (76%) report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers”.
Now more than ever, it is imperative for us to focus on the value of diversity and creating spaces and environments that celebrate it rather than see it as a barrier. The world is evolving rapidly and information is shared so much faster than it used to. We should use that to our advantage and continue evolving our archaic systems and processes. We should recognize that the world is no longer as simple as “one-size-fits-all” and we should stop pretending as though there aren’t flaws and pitfalls in our organizations and teams. For leaders, this means more work for us. Because changing culture is tough. And sometimes acknowledging our own pitfalls and flaws is even tougher.
But until we do that, we won’t be able to close this gap. And we won’t be able to even begin to realize the tremendous value that diversity of thought and diversity of experience can bring. Once we start prioritizing a real intention of broadening our paths towards leadership roles for those beyond non-minority groups, we will begin to see the vast potential of growth for ourselves and our organizations. The world is filled with unique, diverse, vibrant potential, and the path to leadership should not be a narrow path catered toward a historically dominant majority. Starting with awareness and open conversations like this, we can all work together to imagine and create a future of more diverse, more self-aware, and more authentic leaders.
References
[1] Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (Merriam Webster)
[2] An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer” with a “+” sign to recognize the limitless sexual orientations and gender identities used by members of our community. (HRC)
[3] BetterUp study
[4] How Hair Discrimination Affects Black Women at Work (Harvard Business Review)
[5] Microaggressions are everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults — whether intentional or unintentional — that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to individuals based solely upon their marginalized group membership. Microaggressions repeat or affirm stereotypes about a minority group, and they tend to minimize the existence of discrimination or bias, intentional or not. (NIH)