Hamish MacEwan

What makes micro-inequities particularly problematic is that they consist in micro-messages that are hard to recognize for victims, bystanders and perpetrators alike. When victims of micro-inequities do recognize the micro-messages, Rowe argues, it is exceedingly hard to explain to others why these small behaviors can be a huge problem.

Examples of micro-inequities include:

• checking emails or texting during a face-to-face conversation

• consistently mispronouncing a person’s name

• interrupting a person mid-sentence

• making eye-contact only with males while talking to a group containing both males and females

• taking more questions from men than women

• confusing a person of a certain ethnicity with another person of the same ethnicity

• rolling your eyes

• sighing loudly

• raising your voice, even though the other person has no difficulties hearing you

• mentioning the achievements of some people at a meeting but not others whose achievements are equally relevant

• consistently ignoring a person’s emails for no good reason

• only reading half of a person’s email and then asking the person about the content later

• making jokes aimed at certain minority groups

• being completely unpredictable in your grading of certain people’s term papers

• issuing invitations that are uncomfortable for certain groups (“Please feel free to bring your wife,” “There is a link below to childcare options for female speakers who plan to bring their children,” “There will be a belly-dancer at the party,“ “Our annual Christmas party will be held on December 18,” "Please bring pork chops to the potluck dinner”)

/me rolls eyes.

But wait, there’s more.