This new edition of the first practical, nonjudgmental handbook on dealing with microaggressions has been thoroughly updated for the post George Floyd, post COVID world.

While overt discrimination is relatively easy to spot, we cannot neglect the less obvious actions that make people feel left out or stigmatized in our workplaces.

Commonly called microaggressions, this book offers a clearer, more accurate term: subtle acts of exclusion (SAE). After all, people generally aren’t trying to be aggressive–usually they’re trying to say something nice, learn more about a person, or be funny. But whether in the form of stereotypes, assumptions, backhanded compliments, or objectification, SAEs are damaging to our coworkers, friends, and acquaintances.

Originally published in 2020, this new edition has been thoroughly updated. Remote work created new forms of SAEs—insisting that everybody turn on their Zoom cameras, for example. As did the movement for racial justice—well-meaning white people assumed that Black people were always willing to help them “do the work.” 

Along with tools, sample scripts, and action plans, this second edition will also include an activity and discussion guide, and the existing chapter on actions that create a sense of belonging—what the authors call Intentional Acts of Inclusion—has been greatly expanded.

Dr. Tiffany Jana is the CEO of TMI’s Portfolio, a collection of companies working to advance inclusive workplaces. TMI Consulting, a TMI Portfolio company founded by Dr. Jana, was named a Best for the World B Corporation in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Dr. Jana was awarded the B Corp community’s highest honor, the Tal Haussig Award, in 2020. She is also the coauthor of Overcoming Bias. Erasing Institutional Bias, and the second edition of the B Corp Handbook.

Dr. Michael Baran is a social scientist and CEO of Iris Inclusion, a DEI consulting firm. He holds a PhD in cultural anthropology and has been researching, teaching, and practicing around issues related to diversity for over twenty years. His digital tools have been exhibited in museums and earned awards such as Top 100 Innovations in Global Education from the Finland-based group HundrEd.