Accused of racial bias at work by someone, and I feel sick over it

[Anonymous]

OP, I too was once accused of racial bias in the workplace -- in fact, I was sued over it and won the case -- so I totally understand the gut punch and defensiveness that you are feeling. I wouldn't reach out to the woman who you offended, because she feels what she feels and it's highly unlikely that whatever you say will in any way make her feel better.

But you should learn from your mistake, because yes you definitely made one. It was your job to make sure that the voices of both of your interviewees were equally heard, and not to allow the louder one to drown out the quieter one. In the future, work harder to make that happen. Don't pin the blame on the white guy here; this is on you.

Sorry.

[Anonymous]

She won’t change or grow. She’s been doing this job for 20 years. How many people you know changed how they operate after 20 successful years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I too was once accused of racial bias in the workplace -- in fact, I was sued over it and won the case -- so I totally understand the gut punch and defensiveness that you are feeling. I wouldn't reach out to the woman who you offended, because she feels what she feels and it's highly unlikely that whatever you say will in any way make her feel better.

But you should learn from your mistake, because yes you definitely made one. It was your job to make sure that the voices of both of your interviewees were equally heard, and not to allow the louder one to drown out the quieter one. In the future, work harder to make that happen. Don't pin the blame on the white guy here; this is on you.

Sorry.

Genuine question: So what about the person who is quiet and therefore less heard? Where is their responsibility?

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I'd anonymize the facts further and put this on "Ask A Manager." You are getting some thoughtful responses here, but also some troll responses.

I think the university did you a disservice by not presenting the author's roles clearly and having their rep introduce the lead author first.

I agree that you could have been more intentional in shutting the guy down if he was egregiously talking over the woman, but I also think if you're in a field where you are going to be expected to give interviews you can't be soft-spoken and reticent.

I see fault on both sides, but not malicious intent.

[Anonymous]

Which state allows recording?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I'd anonymize the facts further and put this on "Ask A Manager." You are getting some thoughtful responses here, but also some troll responses.

I think the university did you a disservice by not presenting the author's roles clearly and having their rep introduce the lead author first.

I agree that you could have been more intentional in shutting the guy down if he was egregiously talking over the woman, but I also think if you're in a field where you are going to be expected to give interviews you can't be soft-spoken and reticent.

I see fault on both sides, but not malicious intent.

Agree. And as someone who works in journalism -- it is absolutely not the job of the interviewer to coax along someone who is quiet in a joint interview. The job is to get a good and accurate story, not to manage interpersonal dynamics and egos. And the very conversation included, "I can't hear you; speak up!" Racist would be intentionally not giving someone a voice, but it's not racist to simply quote whomever had the better quotes. Media training helps with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I too was once accused of racial bias in the workplace -- in fact, I was sued over it and won the case -- so I totally understand the gut punch and defensiveness that you are feeling. I wouldn't reach out to the woman who you offended, because she feels what she feels and it's highly unlikely that whatever you say will in any way make her feel better.

But you should learn from your mistake, because yes you definitely made one. It was your job to make sure that the voices of both of your interviewees were equally heard, and not to allow the louder one to drown out the quieter one. In the future, work harder to make that happen. Don't pin the blame on the white guy here; this is on you.

Sorry.

Genuine question: So what about the person who is quiet and therefore less heard? Where is their responsibility?

Genuine answer: I don't think it's their responsibility to imitate loud white guys (and I'm a loud white guy). Everybody acting like a loud white guy in the work place doesn't make for a better work place. The responsibility of the loud white guy in the workplace is to STFU from time to time and learn to listen as well as speak.

Here, though, we're not talking about the workplace in general regardless. We're talking about a marketing person conducting an interview. In that particular instance, it's the job of the interviewer to give equal voice to the subjects being interviewed.

[Anonymous]

Race aside, this is why I learned in a psych class not to use negatives. If you’d said, “I want to hear both of you,” there would be no misunderstanding. Relying on people hearing the word “don’t” or “not” causes many unnecessary errors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Race aside, this is why I learned in a psych class not to use negatives. If you’d said, “I want to hear both of you,” there would be no misunderstanding. Relying on people hearing the word “don’t” or “not” causes many unnecessary errors.

That's actually a really good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I'd anonymize the facts further and put this on "Ask A Manager." You are getting some thoughtful responses here, but also some troll responses.

I think the university did you a disservice by not presenting the author's roles clearly and having their rep introduce the lead author first.

I agree that you could have been more intentional in shutting the guy down if he was egregiously talking over the woman, but I also think if you're in a field where you are going to be expected to give interviews you can't be soft-spoken and reticent.

I see fault on both sides, but not malicious intent.

Agree. And as someone who works in journalism -- it is absolutely not the job of the interviewer to coax along someone who is quiet in a joint interview. The job is to get a good and accurate story, not to manage interpersonal dynamics and egos. And the very conversation included, "I can't hear you; speak up!" Racist would be intentionally not giving someone a voice, but it's not racist to simply quote whomever had the better quotes. Media training helps with this.

And as someone who has written many marketing pieces, I will tell you that it works very differently than writing a news story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black woman here, but I think this is more of a gender issue. Probably due to unconscious bias (which we all have) you let the loud man dominate the conversation, and he was rewarded for it with more quotes. Even without knowing the woman was the lead, when you thought they were equal, you alllowed him to dominate with his louder voice.

I don’t think you should feel sick - what good does that do? Instead, you should let it be a learning opportunity. Instead of asking them to speak one at a time, next time ask the loud dominators(usually male) to hold on so you can hear from the coworker. Good luck.

+1 from an Asian American woman. I wonder why you didn't do at least a cursory review of the paper. Wouldn't the lead author be identified in some way? Even if they were co-authors, why wouldn't you highlight both equally? You could have followed up with the woman to specifically solicit quotes from her. As someone who worked many years in communications, I would never have highlighted one co-author over another, regardless of their race or gender. And if I were your client, I wouldn't think you are a racist but I would not continue to work with you.

+2 from a white woman in a male-dominated field.

[Anonymous]

The heck would you even care about a non-lead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I'd anonymize the facts further and put this on "Ask A Manager." You are getting some thoughtful responses here, but also some troll responses.

I think the university did you a disservice by not presenting the author's roles clearly and having their rep introduce the lead author first.

I agree that you could have been more intentional in shutting the guy down if he was egregiously talking over the woman, but I also think if you're in a field where you are going to be expected to give interviews you can't be soft-spoken and reticent.

I see fault on both sides, but not malicious intent.

Agree. And as someone who works in journalism -- it is absolutely not the job of the interviewer to coax along someone who is quiet in a joint interview. The job is to get a good and accurate story, not to manage interpersonal dynamics and egos. And the very conversation included, "I can't hear you; speak up!" Racist would be intentionally not giving someone a voice, but it's not racist to simply quote whomever had the better quotes. Media training helps with this.

And as someone who has written many marketing pieces, I will tell you that it works very differently than writing a news story.

EXACTLY. OP wasn't writing a news story. Her job was to promote the authors in a marketing piece. Journalistic standards are not relevant.

[Anonymous]

In news, favoring one source over another (say a lead author over a non-lead) is a definite no-no: Impartiality rules the day. It's an ethical thing. If two people are on the interview, you give them equal opportunity, no question.

[Anonymous]

Crying and all that is doing too much. I don't think this is racist but I wasn't there and I won't dismiss someone else's lived experience. What you have learned, though, is that

1) a phone interview with more than one person is a terrible way to do your job. Even a Zoom might be better than a phone call.

2) Always do some research ahead of time. How did you formulate questions to ask them if you didn't even check to verify their roles regarding the study?

3) If you left the interview with more quotes from one person but two people were involved perhaps you needed to follow up with the other person even if it was in writing.

4) The world is changing and if you want to stay in business you should be prepared to change how you do your job, too, which includes being cognizant of your own bias.