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I'm a white male mathematician, and have spent a good deal of time working in east Africa over the last few years. Going to Kenya was my first experience with being a visible minority, and working in the Universities, I'm guessing, might approximate what the article is getting at. There was clearly an established culture within the departments, amongst the people I was working with, that I simply couldn't be a part of. At the same time, I was subject to quite a bit of street harassment, though not workplace harassment, which made it very difficult to make connections with people, because the defenses you deploy against possible harassment become an impediment to making strong connections with people. Meanwhile, things like being vegetarian create a kind of gulf with working colleagues.

I think one of the most important things you can do is to actively nurture leadership amongst minority members of your team. By supporting their ideas (both for engineering and social activities) you'll help empower them and make them into insiders. People struggling to fit in will speak more softly, and be more fearful of putting ideas forward; listen closely, amplify good ideas, and make sure that the right people get the credit for them.




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