Rethinking Political Correctness Analysis

The HBR article, “Rethinking Political Correctness” by Ely, R., Meyerson, D., & Davidson M., explores what can be the downside of increased sensitivity to race, religion, or gender in the workplace. In the class text, Bell spells out that “Overt demonstrations of intentional discrimination are considerably less likely in the twenty-first century than they have been in the past” (2012 p. 53). While this should be considered meaningful progress by our society likely helped by laws and regulations, it has not necessarily eradicated underlying racist beliefs or opinions that people may still possess. Employees now know the acceptable script at work and most try to abide by it in fear of being judged if they do not. As a result, underlying issues
I appreciated the commentary that political correctness has a downside that is hindering us from connecting with others. I think our current political climate is an excellent example of how we can use these scripts as weapons and a way to further polarize ourselves from one another. I also like the idea and agree that we need to teach people, and in this case employees, on how to handle diversity-related issues and manage them responsibly and professionally without ignoring them or stuffing them away. Where my concerns come up is that I think the scenarios in this article feel very white collar and also assume an open and possibly flat culture and organization. While I agree someone from a minority group might need to examine their own assumptions/reality, to put the burden and risk that this individual must come forward and start tackling some of these issues is not an easy ask in many environments. I also think not all individuals have meaningful networks they can tap into for support and I imagine not all environments will welcome this exploration at all in the first place. There is a level of risk-taking here that I think is still easier for a majority group to participate in. The scenarios presented also represented employees who seemed to be in experienced roles with a relatively equal level of power. How does this play out when a more junior employee is having this experience with their boss? What does this look like if English is a second language and articulating your reality is a challenge? To be fair to the article, there is discussion about leadership and the need for senior leadership to buy into the principles, get familiar with other social identities, create a safe culture, and model the behavior being asked. Without this in place, I doubt this learning could actualize in a meaningful way in any