Masking In The Workplace and How It Can Be Detrimental To D&i

Dr. Nika White • September 20, 2019

Masking, or covering, is the practice of people feeling as though they can’t show up fully as themselves—personally or professionally. At its simplest definition, masking is when people disguise who they are. 

Through a diversity and inclusion lens, masking causes people to cover up, conform to mainstream thinking, and shrink back portions of their identity. People end up covering what they’re really thinking and feeling as a way of coping, especially in the workplace.

Masking is detrimental to the benefits that diversity and inclusion work brings. If people aren’t bringing their full selves to work and do not feel safe to disagree or have a different perspective‚ this does harm to the individual and the organization. This occurs more often in marginalized, oppressed, and disenfranchised populations. It is a symptom of their psychological safety being compromised.

“The Deloitte University Leadership Center for Inclusion report, Uncovering Talent, reveals that 61% of all employees “cover” their identities in some way – not necessarily hiding something, but downplaying it for fear of drawing unwanted attention or making others uncomfortable.”

We have to support productive environments and mindsets where people can “unmask” and show up as their true selves. When we show up fully—we are more productive, more authentic, and business has the potential to improve.

6 Ways to Minimize Masking in the Workplace

1. Be very intentional about creating (and encouraging) a culture that finds healthy conflict to be normal.

This is vital. We have to welcome differences of opinion and open dialogue. Encouraging this level of banter produces greater problem solving, a higher level of creativity and greater innovation and—ultimately—leads to more competitive advantage.

Create a culture that doesn’t only welcome this type of conversation, but also encourages disagreement and healthy conflict. This is not something that can passively be done, but must be integrated into leadership, general communication, standards, and company culture.

See my other blogs here and here for tips in relationship to this.

2. Once you create more diversity, you have to manage diversity.

It’s a tough pill to swallow but diversity by itself doesn’t necessarily bring results. It’s the effective management of that diversity that brings results. This is why we pair it with the concepts of inclusion and equity.

One standout diversity and inclusion leader I often quote is Kenji Yoshino, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU and former Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Kenji is frequently quoted in regards to masking from his book, Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights.

In one famous study, Kenji surveyed 3000 employees across 10 industries.

“Each organization had a stated commitment to inclusion, yet 61% of the survey participants said they had faced overt or implicit pressure to cover in some way or to downplay their differences from the mainstream. 66% of these employees said that it significantly undermined their sense of self. 50% stated that it diminished their sense of commitment. Other stats from this study:

29% altered their attire, grooming or mannerisms to make their identity less obvious
40% refrained from behavior commonly associated with a given identity
57% avoided sticking up for their identity group
18% limited contact with members of a group they belong to”

These are very interesting statistics since we’re speaking about organizations who have a specific statement dedicated to diversity and inclusion. From their vantage point, they’re putting procedures into practice and being systematic about infiltrating all aspects of the organization. Yet, we still see over 50% of people still having these experiences to feel implicit pressure to cover or mask.

This is why some people say diversity can work against you. This is only the case if diversity is not effectively managed. 

If people feel they have to mask, because their levels of uniqueness and authenticity are not being effectively managed, this results in people being less committed to organizations. It causes them to undermine their sense of self.

So what has to happen? These businesses and organizations need to create systems for learning and development. They must create systems with the goal to improve cultural competence and manage diversity for successful outcomes.

3. Give people the full liberty to disagree with both each other and leadership.

Another way to create environments where masking is minimized is to allow employees to be vocal with leadership.

This is understandably hard for people to do and takes some training, coaching, and a culture that values speaking up. It also takes coaching with those who are in senior levels of influence. Sometimes people don’t come forth because they fear the risk of retaliation. Or they fear how they may be treated after having fully shown up in a capacity that allows them to freely align with their identity.

Working with a diversity and inclusion specialist or coach can be extremely beneficial in helping leaders, teams, and employees to better foster this open communication.

4. Shout it out from the rooftops — be vocal everywhere.

Along with being vocal to leadership, I believe people should be vocal everywhere: at work, at home, to friends, throughout their daily life. We have to normalize people being their most authentic selves in society.

A simple example I like to give (and I am actively vocal about) is African American or ethnic hair. Women of color often go through long, expensive, and complicated processes to make their hair not look like the way it grows naturally out of their head!

This may sound simple or trite but it’s vital to a person’s authentic and God-given identity. If we don’t feel comfortable enough showing up as our natural selves (and we have to spend extra time and money to change it) — how can we truly be a diverse, inclusive, and equitable society? How can we foster diverse and inclusive workplaces? People should be empowered to feel natural and comfortable. 

A simple switch in an employee feeling empowered to be completely “natural” and authentically themselves can ripple into their productivity and engagement with the workplace.

5. Create a feeling of belongingness

One element that helps organizations better address the reduction of masking or covering is by placing a high emphasis on authenticity and the sense of belongingness.

Create a culture of acceptance. If you have a leader who is high in belongingness, who also has a high value of authenticity, then you usually have an environment that is very inclusive. This means individuals in environments are treated as insiders but also allowed, encouraged, and welcomed to maintain a level of authenticity in that workgroup.

What does exclusion look like? When people in an organization are not treated as insiders with unique value. When they are viewed as the “other” or “lesser than”. If the people on the “outside” can cleary view other employees or specific groups of employees as “the insiders” then there is an issue that needs to be resolved. 

What does inclusion look like? Insiders of all types are welcomed and expected to keep a high level of authenticity.

6. Mindfulness in the workplace

Lastly, “mindfulness” is a word that’s used in so many ways these days, but I believe in its importance. I talk about mindfulness a lot because the bottom line is if you can’t manage yourself, you can’t manage and lead others.

Mindfulness is important for leaders and those writing the reports on this subject. It’s important so they can be more thoughtful about situational awareness. If we are mindful, we have a greater propensity to have self-awareness to observe what’s happening and what’s not happening. We are being more intentional to try and notice where inclusion can be compromised and that’s important because it gives us the opportunity to potentially change the outcome.

Being a mindful individual in this regard means you can practice intentional inclusion consistently. The challenge is that it’s easy to approach a situation with unconscious bias — meaning we are operating from a place of “not being aware”. Lack of awareness leads to blind spots, blind spots leads to exclusion, and this can lead to people leaving an organization or having to mask to “survive” in that environment.

It’s a domino effect. But we can move in the right direction if we’re more mindful by creating cultures of positive momentum towards authenticity.

Conclusion

In my work, I always talk about becoming an Intentional Inclusionist. We have to find proactive ways to create safe spaces for people to feel their contributions are valued. And I don’t think enough organizations are doing that specifically.

We talk about culture, but how are we really connecting those conversations to psychological safety? Because that’s the big part in all of this.

What are you, your team, your leadership and your organization doing to foster environments where employees can show up authentically, and fully, as their true selves?

Let’s unmask so we can show up as ourselves. Because this is better for people and better for business.

Read more from The Human Shift on Substack, where I share long-form essays on leadership, culture, and how we work and live.

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The Difference Between Being Consulted and Being Heard - Why Asking for Input Creates an Obligation to Close the Loop

By Nika White • November 2, 2026
Leaders ask for feedback all the time. They send surveys, invite ideas, and schedule listening sessions. Then people wait. Sometimes they hear nothing about what happened to their input. Eventually, participation begins to feel like a formality. People may still show up, but they stop expecting their perspective to matter. In The Human Shift, we’ve talked about permission and trust. Asking for input gives people permission to speak. What happens afterward teaches them whether speaking was worthwhile. A Reframe Listening includes telling people what you did with what you heard. One Simple Practice Choose one recent request for feedback. Share a short update: what you heard, what will change, what won’t, and why. What This Looks Like In Practice An organization gathers employee ideas about workload. Leadership cannot adopt every suggestion, but it explains which two changes it will test and why other requests need more time. Employees have a clearer picture of how their voices informed the decision. Question to Consider When did you last close the loop with people who offered you their perspective? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What makes you feel that your input was genuinely considered?

The Meeting After the Meeting - What Side Conversations Can Reveal About the Room You Just Left

By Nika White • October 26, 2026
You leave a meeting thinking the team is aligned. Then the real conversation starts in the hallway, on a private call, or in a message thread. People ask what a decision really means. Someone raises a concern they never mentioned in the room. Another person says what they wished they had said. Side conversations aren’t always evidence of dysfunction. People need time to process. But when the most honest discussion consistently happens elsewhere, the meeting may be missing something important. We’ve explored silence as a cultural signal in The Human Shift. Pay attention to where candor goes when it doesn’t feel possible in the formal room. A Reframe A meeting can end with agreement and still leave people uncertain or unheard. One Simple Practice Before closing your next meeting, ask: "What concern have we not given enough space to?’" Then wait long enough for a real answer. What This Looks Like In Practice A leadership team approves a new process with little discussion. Later, several managers privately question whether their teams can implement it. At the next meeting, the chair asks for practical objections before asking for agreement. The plan improves before rollout. Question to Consider Where do the most candid conversations in your organization actually happen? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Have you ever learned more in the conversation after a meeting than in the meeting itself?

The Question Beneath the Question-What a Request for Reassurance May Actually be Telling You

By Nika White • October 19, 2026
A team member asks whether you’re happy with their work. You answer yes. A few days later, they ask again. It’s tempting to assume they need more confidence. But maybe they’re trying to understand where they stand with you. When expectations change without explanation, or praise is followed by unexpected criticism, people start looking for clues. Even a straightforward question can carry a second question: Am I safe to trust what you’re telling me? We’ve talked in The Human Shift about what people learn from our reactions. They learn from our consistency, too. A reassuring answer matters. A predictable experience makes that answer believable. A Reframe Reassurance helps in the moment. Consistency helps people stop needing to ask. One Simple Practice When someone seeks reassurance, answer their question. Then ask, ‘Is there anything about my expectations that feels unclear?’ Listen without making them defend the question. What This Looks Like In Practice A director notices that a capable colleague keeps checking whether a presentation is ready. Instead of saying ‘You’re fine’ again, she explains what good looks like, what decisions the colleague owns, and when feedback will come. The repeated checking begins to ease. Question to Consider Where might someone need clearer expectations rather than another encouraging word? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What helps you feel confident that you know where you stand with a leader?

Before Culture Changes, Climate Changes Every lasting culture shift begins in everyday interactions

By Nika White • October 12, 2026
Organizations spend a lot of time talking about culture. Mission statements. Values. Leadership competencies. Strategic plans. All of those have a place. But culture doesn't change because new language appears on a website or because a new initiative is announced. Culture begins changing much earlier than that. It changes when people experience something different. A meeting where they feel heard. A leader who responds with curiosity instead of defensiveness. A difficult conversation that ends with greater trust instead of greater distance. A mistake that becomes an opportunity to learn instead of something to hide. Earlier in The Human Shift, we've explored trust, presence, silence, repair, pace, and leadership aftermath. They may seem like separate ideas, but they all point to the same truth. Before culture shifts, emotional climate shifts. People begin feeling safer. More connected. More willing to contribute. More willing to tell the truth. Culture follows those experiences. A Reframe Culture isn't built one initiative at a time. It's built one interaction at a time. One Simple Practice At the end of this week, don't ask yourself, "What did I accomplish?" Ask, "What kind of environment did I help create for the people around me?" Notice what comes to mind. What This Looks Like In Practice A leadership team spends months discussing ways to improve collaboration. Instead of launching another initiative, they begin with a commitment. Every leader will become more intentional about listening, repairing conversations, slowing unnecessary urgency, and making it safer for people to speak honestly. Six months later, employees describe the culture differently. Not because the organization changed overnight. Because the experience of working there changed first. Question to Consider If culture is built through everyday interactions, what kind of culture are your interactions creating today? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What's one small leadership habit you believe has the biggest impact on culture?

Emotional Memory Outlasts Organizational Memory - People Forget Many Meetings. They Rarely Forget How They Consistently Felt.

By Nika White • October 5, 2026
Think about a leader who had a lasting impact on you. You probably remember a few things they said. You almost certainly remember how it felt to work with them. Maybe you felt trusted. Maybe you felt anxious every time they called. Maybe you felt challenged in a way that helped you grow. Maybe you felt like you were constantly trying to avoid disappointing them. That emotional memory stays with us much longer than most organizational moments. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored the leadership aftermath and the emotional tone leaders leave behind. Over time, those individual experiences become something much larger. They become the stories people tell about what it was like to work there. That's one of the ways culture is built. Not through one memorable event. Through repeated emotional experiences. A Reframe People don't remember every interaction. They remember the pattern those interactions created. One Simple Practice Think about someone you lead. Complete this sentence: "When this person thinks about working with me, I hope they remember feeling..." Don't overthink it. Write the first word that comes to mind. Then ask yourself whether your daily interactions support that hope. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader asks several team members what they appreciate most about working together. None of them mention strategy. None of them mention goals. Every response describes an experience. "I know you'll listen." "I always leave our conversations feeling clearer." "I know where I stand." The leader realizes those experiences have become part of the team's culture. Question to Consider If someone reflected on working with you five years from now, what feeling would you hope they remember most? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. When you think about the best leader you've ever worked with, what feeling comes to mind first?

The Pace People Borrow From You. Your Team Notices Your Rhythm More Than Your Schedule

By Nika White • September 28, 2026
Leaders often influence pace without realizing it. The speed of your responses. The urgency in your voice. How quickly you move from one meeting to the next. How often you say, "We need this right away." People notice. Then they adjust. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored the tension between speed and clarity . Pace is different from productivity. Pace is the emotional rhythm people begin to adopt simply by working around you. If everything feels urgent to you, it eventually feels urgent to everyone else. A Reframe People don't just respond to your priorities. They respond to your pace. One Simple Practice Before beginning your next meeting, ask yourself, "What pace does this conversation actually need?" Not every discussion deserves urgency. Some deserve room to think. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader starts opening meetings with sixty seconds of quiet before diving into discussion. At first it feels unusual. Within a few weeks, people arrive more focused, interrupt each other less, and make decisions with greater confidence. The work isn't slower. It's steadier. Question to Consider If someone matched your pace every day, what would their work experience feel like? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What pace are you setting that others may be quietly adopting?

Repair Builds More Trust Than Perfection - People rarely expect flawless leaders. They do remember honest ones.

By Nika White • September 21, 2026
Every leader gets it wrong sometimes. A conversation comes across differently than intended. A decision has unintended consequences. Someone leaves feeling overlooked. The mistake itself isn't usually what determines trust. What happens next often does. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored leadership aftermath and the emotional tone people carry after interactions. Repair is one of the most powerful ways to change that aftermath. It communicates something every healthy culture needs to hear. "We can acknowledge what happened without pretending it didn't." A Reframe Trust isn't built because mistakes never happen. It's built because people know they won't be ignored when they do. One Simple Practice Think about one recent interaction that doesn't sit quite right. Reach back out. A simple, "I've been thinking about our conversation, and I'd like to check in," can reopen trust. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader realizes she interrupted a team member several times during a meeting. The next morning she stops by his office. "I don't think I gave your perspective enough space yesterday. I'd like to hear the rest of your thoughts." The conversation lasts ten minutes. The impact lasts much longer. Question to Consider What conversation might be waiting for a repair instead of an explanation? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Has someone ever repaired a conversation with you in a way you'll never forget?

Curiosity Changes the Climate - Why questions often move people further than answers

By Nika White • September 8, 2026
Many leaders feel pressure to have answers. It's understandable. People look to leaders for direction, especially when things feel uncertain. But some of the most influential leaders I've worked with ask better questions instead of giving faster answers. Questions create space. Answers often close it. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored how people respond to a leader's presence before they respond to their words . Curiosity creates a different kind of presence. It tells people their perspective matters before a solution is ever offered. A Reframe The goal isn't to have the smartest answer. The goal is to create the kind of conversation where better thinking becomes possible. One Simple Practice The next time someone brings you a challenge, resist solving it immediately. Instead ask, "What do you think is most important for us to understand before we decide what to do?" Then listen. What This Looks Like In Practice A manager walks into a meeting ready to solve a recurring team issue. Instead of offering her recommendation first, she invites the team to share what they're noticing. The conversation uncovers a pattern no one had previously connected. The solution becomes stronger because more people helped build it. Question to Consider Do people leave conversations with you feeling like they contributed or simply received direction? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. When was the last time a thoughtful question changed your perspective?

Permission Is Always Being Given- Leaders communicate more through behavior than instruction

By Nika White • August 31, 2026
Leaders often wonder why their teams aren't doing more of something. Speaking up. Collaborating. Taking initiative. Thinking creatively. The answer is sometimes found in the everyday moments that seem unrelated. People pay attention to what leaders actually do. If a leader says they value reflection but never slows down, people learn that speed matters more. If a leader encourages honest feedback but becomes defensive when receiving it, people learn that honesty has limits. If a leader talks about work-life balance but sends emails late into the evening, people learn what the real expectation is. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored unspoken expectations . Most cultures are shaped less by formal messages than by repeated observations. A Reframe Whether you realize it or not, you're always giving people permission. The question is what you're giving them permission to do. One Simple Practice Complete this sentence: "My team probably believes it's okay to..." Write down the first answer that comes to mind. Then ask yourself whether your behavior has been teaching that lesson intentionally. What This Looks Like In Practice A leader tells her team they don't need to respond after hours. Then she notices she's emailing at 10:30 every night. She schedules those messages to send the next morning instead. Nothing about the policy changes. Everything about the signal does. Question to Consider If people copied your leadership habits exactly, what kind of culture would they create? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What's one behavior of yours that may be communicating more loudly than your words?

What Your Team Is Learning From Your Reactions - Every response teaches people what feels safe

By Nika White • August 24, 2026
People pay attention to what leaders celebrate. They pay even closer attention to what leaders react to. A frustrated sigh. A quick interruption. An impatient email. A defensive response to feedback. None of these moments seem particularly significant on their own. But people are always learning from them. They begin to understand which questions are welcome. Which mistakes feel risky. Which conversations require extra caution. Earlier in The Human Shift, we explored how silence often becomes a cultural signal. Silence rarely appears without first being taught what feels safe to say. Your reactions become part of that lesson. A Reframe People don't simply hear your expectations. They study your reactions. One Simple Practice The next time someone brings you unexpected news, resist the urge to respond immediately. Take one slow breath. Become curious before becoming corrective. That small pause often changes the entire conversation. What This Looks Like In Practice A team member admits she made an error that will delay a project. Instead of immediately asking how it happened, the leader asks, "Tell me what you've learned so far." The conversation shifts from self-protection to problem-solving. The mistake still gets addressed. The person doesn't leave feeling like the mistake defines them. Question to Consider What have your reactions been teaching people lately? In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. If someone made a mistake today, would they feel comfortable bringing it to you quickly?