GP MICROAGGRESSIONS - CASE 1
Nancy has been articling at the firm for four months. She is enjoying her work, especially assignments from Petra, a senior labour lawyer at the firm with a specialty in discrimination and harassment cases. The two have met together several times over Zoom to discuss cases. As pandemic restrictions have eased, Nancy has started coming in to the office more often, and one day she runs into Petra in the hall. "Hi Jocelyn," Petra says. Nancy freezes. Jocelyn is the name of the only other East Asian lawyer at the firm.
"It's Nancy," Nancy finally manages. Petra shakes her head, as though shaking water from her eyes, and apologizes. Nancy tries to forget about this, but then it happens again, this time in front of a few other lawyers. Nancy stays silent, reluctant to embarrass Petra in front of others. She also overhears Petra calling Jocelyn "Nancy". Nancy considers discussing this with her mentor, Tom, who she likes a lot, but she knows that Tom and Petra are very close friends.
"It's Nancy," Nancy finally manages. Petra shakes her head, as though shaking water from her eyes, and apologizes. Nancy tries to forget about this, but then it happens again, this time in front of a few other lawyers. Nancy stays silent, reluctant to embarrass Petra in front of others. She also overhears Petra calling Jocelyn "Nancy". Nancy considers discussing this with her mentor, Tom, who she likes a lot, but she knows that Tom and Petra are very close friends.
- What would you do if you were Nancy?
- Now let's say that this microaggression is brought to Petra's attention by a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Suppose you are Petra. How do you respond?