They’re not always loud. They don’t show up in incident reports. But over time, they quietly corrode trust, stall careers, and derail innovation.
In this blog, we explore what microaggressions are, how they show up in tech, and why fixing them isn’t just a cultural nice-to-have: it’s critical infrastructure for business success.
Microaggressions are subtle, often unconscious comments or behaviours that send a dismissive, stereotypical, or invalidating message.
These are not “one-off” offensive jokes. They’re the accumulation of small digs and dismissals that, over time, tell someone they don’t quite belong.
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“You’re actually technical?” (to a female analyst)
“You’re very articulate.” (to a colleague with an accent)
“You don’t look autistic.” (to a neurodivergent colleague)
Repeated interruptions
Dismissing input until repeated by someone else
In isolation these seem minor. But they stack. And when they do, they erode what every high-functioning tech team relies on: Psychological Safety.
Tech teams thrive on diverse thinking, collaboration, and rapid problem-solving. But these capabilities die in cultures where people are ignored, minimised, or invalidated.
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Psychological safety is the belief that it’s safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and admit mistakes. Is a prerequisite for innovation. Microaggressions slowly destroy it.
A woman of colour submits elegant, efficient code. Her pull request receives overly critical nitpicks. Meanwhile, a junior male colleague pushes a substandard change and gets “Nice work!” in reply.
Impact: She learns to second-guess her code, speaks up less, and loses confidence.
A junior engineer posts a new idea in the team Slack. It gets ignored. An hour later, a senior colleague posts the same idea and it’s suddenly a “great direction.”
Impact: The junior team member stops contributing. The team loses perspective, and inclusion becomes performative instead of genuine.
During stand-up, a neurodivergent dev takes longer to articulate a thought. The team lead cuts them off to “keep things moving.”
Impact: They stop engaging verbally. Knowledge is lost, and bias is embedded.
Talented employees (especially women, minorities, and neurodiverse individuals) leave when they feel undervalued.
Psychological Safety is a key ingredient of high-performing teams. Without it, people stop sharing creative ideas or challenging assumptions.
When only the dominant voices are heard, blind spots multiply and products, processes, and teams suffer.
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Bottom line: Microaggressions are the silent killer of productivity, trust, and inclusion.
The root of microaggressions? A chronic lack of soft skills in the people driving tech innovation.
Empathy
understanding how others feel, even if you didn’t mean to hurt their feelings
Active Listening
actually hearing quiet voices and diverse perspectives
Cultural Intelligence
adapting how you communicate based on who you're with
Self-Awareness
noticing your own interruptions, assumptions, or dismissals
Feedback Fluency
offering critique without condescension
In tech, these are often treated as “nice to have.” But they’re absolutely essential if your team is going to function in complex, diverse, fast-changing environments.
Replace “I didn’t mean it that way” with “Thanks for the feedback. I want to do better.”
Ask yourself, “Whose voice isn’t being heard?”
Practice pausing before speaking; especially if you’re usually the loudest voice in the room.
Run retros with an inclusion lens: “Who felt excluded today?”
Use structured turn-taking to democratise airtime.
Offer anonymous ways to flag concerns, with a plan for follow-up.
Make soft skills part of hiring and promotion criteria, especially for leaders and managers.
Offer ongoing, contextualised training on inclusive communication.
Measure inclusion, not just diversity. Who’s speaking? Who’s advancing?
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Yes, but it takes humility, not just policy. Microaggressions can be “debugged” when people:
Acknowledge harm
without defensiveness
Apologise with intent
to learn
Commit to new behaviour
not just reflection
Teams that build this kind of trust grow stronger, more resilient, and more collaborative.
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Microaggressions are like invisible bugs in your culture code. You won’t always see them, but their impact is measurable and significant.
Fixing them isn’t about being “PC.” It’s about building psychologically safe, high-performing, future-proof tech teams that can collaborate, innovate, and grow.
If you’re serious about retaining diverse talent, boosting innovation, and creating meaningful, values-led cultures—soft skills aren’t optional.
They’re your team’s next big upgrade.
ProTech Your Skills delivers bespoke workshops, coaching, and content to help tech leaders and teams level up their human skills to make them indispensable.
Get in touch [email protected]