Microinequity

No, it’s not an economics jargon I assure you. It’s actually just a fancy word to describe something we know about. I’ve heard it for the first time a few weeks ago, when I attended a lunch&learn session at the office. Quoting Mr Wikipedia: Microinequity is a term for a variety of disparaging message, typically subconscious in nature, that may discourage and devalue someone. A microinequity may be a gesture, rumour, look or even tone of voice. In my own words, microinequity are actions that may offend someone or make them feel excluded (or terasa hati), without the perpetrator intending to. Well, if they did intend it, then it’s just plain discourtesy, rudeness or even bigotry.

We’ve probably experienced it one way or another. Some examples could be:
Gender: Aik, apasal aku pulak kena serve kopi dalam meeting ni? Taulah aku sorang je pompuan.
Language: Weih, aku kan depan korang nih, janganlah cakap dalam bahasa yang aku tak faham.
Religion: Mentang-mentang aku tak pakai tudung, diorang tak ajak aku pergi surau sekali.
Racial/Cultural: Aku pun tau jugak pakai chopstick, apesal waiter ni pandai-pandai tukar letak sudu garfu?
Appearance/Status: Apa ingat aku takde duit ke nak bayar hotel korang ni?

Some people would say – they’re such small and petty things! But you see, when these small and petty things keeps happening it may be a bother. Like a tonne of feathers, each individual feather is light, but a tonne is still a tonne. Sometimes this ‘bothers’ may influence your decisions, for example: I feel undervalued in this job so I want to quit. They make me feel excluded; I might as well not try to befriend them.

When faced with microinequities, there are 4 approaches we could go about it. The first is passive; you repress your dissatisfaction silently, you don’t do anything and swallows it all. On the other extreme, you may explode! This is the aggressive approach; you may attack the person who’s giving you these microinequities. In the middle, there’s the direct and indirect approach. You may choose to discuss (nicely of course) with the perpetrators. Since microinequities are usually done without them realising it, they are likely to be acknowledge it openly and may even apologize. Of course, not all of us would react so ‘nicely’, some would get into defensive mode and take it personally. In which case an indirect approach may work better. Get help from a third person to mediate, talk to other people to create awareness about it or use humour to make the perpetrators take notice.

The term microinequity may be coined by the West, but Islam has addressed this issue way ahead. A hadith mentioned that ‘let not two people whisper in the presence of a third person’. I apologize for not being able to produce the accurate text and isnad of the hadith; I tried to look for it but failed. I would very much appreciate if anyone can enlighten me.

But all along when I think about microinequity, my worry is not whether I’m a victim or not, but rather ‘Am I a perpetrator?’ Have I unconsciously cause other people to feel sidelined or upset? Afterall, isn’t there a hadith saying ‘a Muslim is someone from whom all is safe from harm’? (again, my apologies for lack of accurate text and isnad). Hmm… it’s time to watch my words and actions more closely.