Originally coined in 1970 by Dr. Chester Pierce, the term "microaggression" encompasses any subtle insult or informal degradation of a member of any socially marginalized group. While incidents of blatant racism and sexism might be deterred by zero-tolerance policies in the workforce, microaggressions still plague our daily interactions with colleagues and patients alike. In this paper we define and categorize microaggressions using real-world examples, describe their repercussions and provide ways to appropriately respond to microaggressions on a personal and institutional level.
Keywords: Diversity; Equity; Inclusion; Microaggression; Racism; Radiology; Sexism; Underrepresented minorities.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.