Sensitivity training with a focus on race is often requested for employee development and to work toward a culture led by respect and understanding. Human resources teams seek out sensitivity training to reduce risk of conflict, harassment claims, and lawsuits, yet the benefits of an effective sensitivity course can include a transformation of corporate culture.
What is racial sensitivity training?
Racial sensitivity training teaches employees to increase awareness of racial biases and stereotypes, promoting respectful interactions and inclusive workplaces by sharing best practices to raise self-awareness of implicit biases and resolve both biases and the resulting microaggressions, which can quickly turn into harassment.
Emergency racial sensitivity workshops made headlines in 2020 after being sought after by corporations like Prada and NASCAR. FEMA offers sensitivity training to its staff to equip them to effectively respond to emergencies while considering the unique needs and vulnerabilities of the individuals and communities they serve. In 2022, Denny Hamlin was ordered to take sensitivity training after posting a racist meme on X.com.
Diversity Builder’s racial sensitivity training is an interactive workplace workshop where employees learn how their words and actions can cause harm to team members based on race, and how to communicate respectfully to avoid discrimination and harassment.
Purpose and Goals:
While the initial goals are to raise self-awareness and choose respectful words and actions, ultimately the goal is to create an work environment with psychological safety and a culture of appreciating and welcoming differences in social identities.
As the country grows increasingly diverse, it’s essential that staff at all levels are prepared to work with and support people from different backgrounds and identities, including racially and ethnically diverse employees. Between 2010 and 2020, 96% of counties in the United States became more racially and ethnically diverse.1 This trend is true across urban and rural areas as well as counties that were previously relatively similar. As of 2019, nonwhite and/or Latino workers accounted for 40% of the U.S. workforce.2
Where do you start in addressing racial sensitivity in an organization. The idea of race isn’t well defined in the United States, with geography, language, educational attainment, social and economic status factoring into how others perceive an individual’s race.3 People often conflate systemic (or institutional) racism, in which society’s structure is designed to benefit some groups over others, with racism on an individual level. Furthermore, white individuals may struggle to recognize that, while they face challenges based on their non-racial identities like sexual or gender identity, religion, or other factors, they have advantages from their status as a person with identities in the majority.4
How can managers ensure that their employees are well-versed in issues around racism so that all employees feel fully supported and ready to engage with each other? Diversity Builder leads organizations through this process, offering practical, hands-on training that participants can apply right away. The trainer facilitates open discussion and learning activities to help employees understand the challenges faced by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals in the workplace so they can avoid the unintended pitfalls of exclusion, microaggressions, and discriminatory practices. After this training, participants will be ready to work effectively and positively with their fellow employees of different races and ethnicities and be in a position to further develop allyship.
Request Racial Sensitivity Training
What is sensitivity training, and can it improve workplace interactions?
Sensitivity training has been an increasingly popular topic for workplaces and organizations in recent years.
“Sensitivity training is a workshop that helps employees develop an awareness of their own attitudes, biases, and behaviors and an understanding of how these impact employees, customers, vendors, and managers in the workplace. Sensitivity training encourages employees to develop respect and empathy for others, creating a positive work environment.”5
Which problems are sensitivity training trying to address, and what does the training look like?
Racial insensitivity can take many forms, both overt and covert. Most people recognize overt racism intentionally derogatory comments such as slurs or blatant microaggressions as unacceptable. However, most problematic behavior falls under covert racism, including racist jokes, assumptions, stereotyping, and inappropriate images shared digitally. Even in the workplace, covert racism is sometimes socially acceptable and common.6 Covert acts often take the form of racial microaggressions, which are seemingly harmless comments or actions that are actually insulting, derogatory, and/or indications that people of color are different.7 Participants in this training will be given numerous case studies and examples of covert racism, enabling them to identify problematic words and actions and to avoid alienating and hurting colleagues of color. Conversely, they will learn practices of interventions and microaffirmations to support employees across differences in race and ethnicity.
Many less marginalized individuals are unaccustomed to talking or thinking about difficult issues around race. When topics arise that encourage them to consider their own part in disparities, they often try to shut down the topic or disengage. They also might resent the idea that they themselves are being targeted.8 On the other hand, BIPOC employees and managers are put in a vulnerable position by speaking up about these issues. An individual who objects to racist jokes might be told they are too sensitive, be excluded from key meetings and professional opportunities, or even pushed out by their manager.9 Furthermore, asking BIPOC employees to address issues around racial mistreatment puts additional strain on an already disenfranchised group.10
“I am always on guard. I don’t feel I can trust my coworkers with my authentic truths and I feel like they somehow see me as a threat.”11
Sensitivity training creates a supportive environment for these discussions, providing the structure to productively explore fraught issues. Participants explore how stereotypes harm
individual employees as well as organizations as a whole, illuminating many facets of racism in the workplace. By beginning the training with clear expectations, including setting a tone of respect, listening to feedback, and keeping an open mind, employees will feel safe in discussing sensitive issues and building mutual trust.12
Diversity Builder guides employees through understanding exactly how racial disparities harm BIPOC workers and create toxic workplaces. Many employees are not fully aware of the problems and hurdles that their BIPOC cohorts face on a regular basis. Here is a short and non-exhaustive list of some of the harmful behaviors that BIPOC employees must deal with because of their race.
Harmful Outcomes of Racial Exclusion
- Hints or comments that employees were hired or promoted because of their race, such as a “DEI hire” or tokenism
- Questions about competency or knowledge
- Being asked to speak for an entire community
- Cultural background and lived experience being treated as atypical
- Surprise about education level, credentials, and skills
- Assumptions of level of entry as being low or entry-level employees
The damage that these attitudes inflict aren’t always obvious and they can be devastating to BIPOC employees. The cumulative effect of racialized comments and microaggressions can result in anxiety, depression, or even serious physical diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure.13 Racial sensitivity training seeks to highlight these issues, empowering employees with tools to recognize unacceptable words or actions and to understand the damage done by covert racism. It also leads employees through exercises and self-reflection to guide them in recognizing their own misconceptions about coworkers of color. Participants will be asked to examine their assumptions about those from different backgrounds and to question whether those assumptions are based in reality. In learning to pause and question stereotypes, they will retrain their brains via neuroplasticity to respond to the person in front of them with empathy and awareness, instead of reacting based on preconceived notions. The process of discussing and acknowledging issues during the training cultivates trust and connection between employees.14
Employee Coaching Options
Human resources leaders may request group training or one on one coaching when there is a workplace complaint or reported conflict.
In addition to recognizing and avoiding racially-based stereotypes and assumptions, Diversity Builder’s sensitivity training covers how to intervene when witnessing problematic behavior. Bystander intervention, in which someone steps in to stop or redirect harmful words or actions, is crucial in creating a culture of accountability. While interventions can be as direct as telling the person or people acting inappropriately to stop, there are a number of less direct ways to intervene, including:
- Creating a diversion like pulling the targeted individual away for a work-related question
- Changing the subject
- Asking the targeted individual if they are uncomfortable
- Later on, having a conversation with the person engaging in problematic behavior to discuss how their actions are harmful
- Bringing the incident to the attention of Human Resources or management
Participants will have the opportunity to think about and practice these options through realistic case studies and structured role-playing exercises so that they will feel prepared to handle these situations with proficiency.
What Managers Need to Know about Racial Sensitivity
While racial sensitivity training is invaluable in changing organizational culture, leaders and management must set the tone to ensure that it is treated as an ongoing priority, not a short-term project. Leadership must make it clear that everyone should take training seriously and commit to the continuous self-reflection and accountability required for an inclusive workplace. They should also hold themselves to these standards, committing to transparency and leading by example, to ensure that BIPOC employees are welcomed, supported, and included at all levels. For example, if a member of the company leadership team acts problematically in working with a BIPOC employee, they should apologize to that individual and be transparent about the issue with others. It’s also critical that leadership understand how widespread and pernicious racism in the workplace is, from unintentional exclusion or isolation up to the lack of diversity in company leadership.15 A leader seeking to minimize or discount these issues will seriously undermine racial sensitivity efforts and progress in an organization.
There are a number of ways that managers can address race-based discrepancies. Sending out anonymous surveys and/or undergoing audits of the racial climate at their organization is helpful in surfacing issues, and managers should ensure that the results of these information-gathering projects are shared and acted on.16 Leaders especially should be on the outlook for affinity bias, in which people unconsciously gravitate towards others with a similar background, in themselves and others. When making decisions about hiring or professional opportunities, they should take extra steps to ensure that they are selecting the most qualified person for the job instead of being swayed by factors such as “likeability” or “cultural fit.” Encouraging mentorship programs that are open to all employees, instead of relying on invitation-only memberships or informal, employee-led mentorships, can also address workers of color being inadvertently left out of professional development opportunities.17 Managers will leave the training with plentiful ideas, tools, and best practices for transformative change at their organizations.
The training will also cover how to improve overall diversity at a company through innovative recruitment efforts. Because managers have a more comprehensive view of the organization than staff, they are especially well-positioned to spot larger structural issues that lead to a less inclusive environment. Recruiting directly from historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, and similar minority-serving institutions, for example, are excellent ways to diversify a company. Management should consider how racism affects an organization in many different ways, from company culture, mentorship and professional development, hiring and recruitment, and more, to foster an organization that truly welcomes and supports BIPOC employees at all levels.
A more racially conscious organization creates a safer space for employees as well as contributes to a respectful workplace. Sensitivity training yields improvements in business outcomes, because employees who feel supported and included demonstrate better outcomes for engagement and productivity.18 For all of these reasons, managers should prioritize improving the culture of their company through racial sensitivity training and an ongoing commitment to addressing employee concerns or larger issues of inclusivity.
[1] American Immigration Council. (2021, September 23). The United States is more diverse than ever, in more places than ever. https://data.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/en/census2020/
[2] Wingfield, A.H. (2022, December 22). U.S. workers are becoming more diverse in race, ethnicity and age — but companies aren’t keeping up. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/workplace-diversity-retention-recruitment-race-ethnicity-age/
[3] Dutt, K. (2020, June 30). Racial sensitivity: from awareness to action. https://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/diversity/Racial-Sensitivity-June2020.pdf
[4] Dutt, K. (2020, June 30). Racial sensitivity: from awareness to action. https://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/diversity/Racial-Sensitivity-June2020.pdf
[5] Stacey, K. (2023, May 31). The full guide to sensitivity training in the workplace (+ best tool to use). https://connecteam.com/e-sensitivity-training/
[6] Dutt, K. (2020, June 30). Racial sensitivity: from awareness to action. https://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/diversity/Racial-Sensitivity-June2020.pdf
[7] Pfizer. (n.d.) Understanding racial microaggression and its effect on mental health. https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/understanding_racial_microaggression_and_its_effect_on_mental_health
[8] Dutt, K. (2020, June 30). Racial sensitivity: from awareness to action. https://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/diversity/Racial-Sensitivity-June2020.pdf
[9] Winters, M.F. (2020, September 15). What is black fatigue, and how can we protect employees from it? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_black_fatigue_and_how_can_we_protect_employees_from_it
[10] Winters, M.F. (2020, September 15). What is black fatigue, and how can we protect employees from it? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_black_fatigue_and_how_can_we_protect_employees_from_it
[11] Winters, M.F. (2020, September 15). What is black fatigue, and how can we protect employees from it? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_black_fatigue_and_how_can_we_protect_employees_from_it
[12] Stacey, K. (2023, May 31). The full guide to sensitivity training in the workplace (+ best tool to use). https://connecteam.com/e-sensitivity-training/
[13] Pfizer. (n.d.) Understanding racial microaggression and its effect on mental health. https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/understanding_racial_microaggression_and_its_effect_on_mental_health
[14] Stacey, K. (2023, May 31). The full guide to sensitivity training in the workplace (+ best tool to use). https://connecteam.com/e-sensitivity-training/
[15] Winters, M.F. (2020, September 15). What is black fatigue, and how can we protect employees from it? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_black_fatigue_and_how_can_we_protect_employees_from_it
[16] Winters, M.F. (2020, September 15). What is black fatigue, and how can we protect employees from it? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_black_fatigue_and_how_can_we_protect_employees_from_it
[17] Wingfield, A.H. (2022, December 22). U.S. workers are becoming more diverse in race, ethnicity and age — but companies aren’t keeping up. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/workplace-diversity-retention-recruitment-race-ethnicity-age/
[18] Stacey, K. (2023, May 31). The full guide to sensitivity training in the workplace (+ best tool to use). https://connecteam.com/e-sensitivity-training/