Unveiling the Unseen: Understanding and Addressing Microaggressions

Microaggressions—whether they’re from a place of conscious or unconscious bias—have no place in the modern working environment. And, if you didn’t already know this, read on and you’ll learn a lot. A conversation with Vanessa Kord, Talent Acquisition Partner - UK.

“In my first job out of uni, someone told me, 'you're pretty for a Black girl.'”

Vanessa was too shy to, in her words, "shut it down." It was her first job and she was also the only Person of Colour in the company.

"I was upset. Definitely upset. But also more fearful... I was always like, 'well, I should probably feel pretty lucky that I've got a job, full stop."

That experience, Vanessa says, fed into an inferiority complex she had and further fuelled the impostor syndrome she still sometimes has.

"You always have that fear that it's going to continue throughout your career. That's why it's so important companies foster a culture where people feel heard and seen."

When Vanessa started at Sage she joined our Embrace Network, the colleague success network for People of Colour.

"Now, as a co-lead of Embrace, I want to do something to ensure people at Sage who look like me-and have, perhaps, felt the way I've felt-have a platform from which to be heard. We listen to our members, take their concerns to the wider business, and tell them: 'These are the issues people are facing,' so they can be addressed. My message to companies that don't have similar networks? You risk losing employees. If people feel pushed into a corner, they'll simply go where there's more room for them."