Understanding Whiteness in the Workplace

We will work to keep this page updated and relevant to our goal of supporting white people in their ongoing racial identity development. Often, especially after a well-publicized incident of racial harm, we are flooded with resources. While books, movies, podcasts, and articles can be helpful and bring us together to share what we’re learning, it can be overwhelming. Here, we’ll share just a few that we find especially relevant to the topic of whiteness, and we hope you find them helpful as you pursue your own racial identity development.

White Supremacy Culture Tema Okun writes that “White supremacy culture is the widespread ideology baked into the beliefs, values, norms, and standards of our groups (many if not most of them), our communities, our towns, our states, our nation, teaching us both overtly and covertly that whiteness holds value, whiteness is value.” You can read about white supremacy and white supremacy culture on Tema Okun’s newly launched website, linked here.

Whiteness Defining whiteness is critical to understanding how it impacts our lives daily as white people. We offer two helpful definitions:

Robin DiAngelo (2018) explains that whiteness is a social and institutional status and identity with legal, political, economic, and social rights and privileges denied to others.

Ruth Frankenberg (1993) explains that whiteness is a standpoint for moving through the world. A position of unearned white skin privilege. And, what passes for “normal.”

Microaggressions Psychologist Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as "brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership." The term “micro” is not meant to imply that these everyday exchanges are minor but rather that they are daily and all the time.

A Note on Language and Terms BIPOC vs. PoC, Ally vs. Co-conspirator; navigating terms and language can be confusing and fraught. We always want to be sensitive and inclusive with our language and terms. We also know that searching for just-right language can get in the way of moving forward. We hope that you take our use of language and specific terms with the inclusive intentions we have for them and that you ask questions, make suggestions, and introduce us to different language and terms. We are learning right alongside you.