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.

Feedback and the Nervous System - Why Some Conversations Lead To Growth And Others Lead To Silence

By Nika White • March 16, 2026
Two leaders can say the same words and produce entirely different outcomes. One conversation invites reflection. Another produces compliance. A third produces quiet withdrawal. The difference is rarely the phrasing. It is the state of the person delivering it. Before a listener processes meaning, their body processes safety. If tension, urgency, or frustration is present, the nervous system prioritizes protection over learning. The person may nod, agree, or apologize—but understanding has not actually occurred. Earlier in The Human Shift, The Body Knows Before the Mind Does , we explored how the body registers experience before the mind interprets it. Feedback follows that same sequence. Presence communicates before language does. Reframe Feedback is received through regulation before it is received through reasoning. One Grounded Practice Before offering feedback, take 30 seconds to orient yourself to the environment: Look around the room. Name three neutral objects you can see. Slow your exhale once. Then begin the conversation. Grounded delivery increases learning far more than refined wording. Closing Reflection What state are others experiencing when they receive guidance from you? Contextual Depth Signal In leadership coaching, feedback rarely fails because leaders lack clarity. It fails because the emotional tone of the interaction determines whether the brain processes information or threat. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Think about your last feedback conversation — how regulated did you feel before it started?

Competence and Control - When Capability Quietly Becomes Over-Management

By Nika White • March 9, 2026
High-capacity leaders often step in before others struggle. They refine the message. They fix the slide. They solve the problem before it fully forms. The intention is almost always supportive. But the impact accumulates differently. When leaders consistently intervene early, teams stop developing judgment. Initiative declines. And the leader’s workload increases—not because the team lacks ability, but because the team lacks ownership. Control rarely announces itself as control. It appears helpful. Earlier in The Human Shift, Capacity Is Not Infinite , we discussed capacity as information. Control is often a response to leaders sensing the system might falter and unconsciously compensating. The leader becomes the stabilizer. And stabilizers eventually become exhausted. Reframe Support strengthens capability. Preemption weakens it. One Grounded Practice The next time a team member brings you a solvable problem, pause before offering a solution and ask: “What options are you considering?” Then wait. Do not refine immediately. Do not redirect quickly. Allow their thinking to complete before yours begins. Leadership capacity grows when others experience themselves as capable. Closing Reflection Where might your helpfulness be preventing someone else’s development? Contextual Depth Signal In organizational advisory work, many leadership bottlenecks are not skill issues but ownership issues. When leaders shift from solving to supporting thinking, both performance and energy improve. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Where do you feel most necessary right now—and is it because of structure or habit?

The Cost of Constant Readiness - Why Urgency Quietly Reshapes Leadership Judgment

By Nika White • March 2, 2026
Many leaders live in a state of readiness they no longer notice. They check messages before standing up in the morning. They anticipate disagreement before a conversation begins. They prepare responses before anyone finishes speaking. At first, this feels like responsibility. Over time, it becomes physiology. The body learns to expect interruption, so it stops settling. Attention shortens. Everything begins to feel slightly time-sensitive—even when it isn’t. This isn’t only about workload. It’s about nervous system posture. Earlier in The Human Shift, The Shift from Bracing to Grounding , we explored bracing—the body preparing to endure pressure. Constant readiness is a quieter version of the same pattern. Leaders aren’t reacting to the present demand. They’re reacting to a predicted one. And prediction changes perception. When leaders remain perpetually ready, they begin interpreting more situations as urgent than they actually are. Conversations compress. Listening becomes strategic instead of receptive. Discernment narrows. Reframe Urgency is not always information. Sometimes it is anticipation that the body hasn’t updated yet. One Grounded Practice Today, before responding to a non-emergency message or request, pause for one full breath cycle. Not to delay action. To confirm necessity. Notice: • Did the situation actually require speed? • Or did your body simply expect it? Grounding begins by distinguishing immediacy from importance. Closing Reflection Where in your leadership are you responding to expectation rather than reality? Contextual Depth Signal In my coaching work, leaders often discover their decision fatigue is less about volume and more about constant readiness. When urgency is recalibrated, clarity returns quickly—without reducing responsibility. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. What in your work currently feels urgent—and what might simply be asking for your presence?

Inclusion Isn’t Exhausting — Disconnection Is

By Nika White • February 24, 2026
Inclusion Isn’t Exhausting—Disconnection Is: Why fatigue around inclusion often signals something deeper than disagreement When people say they’re tired of inclusion work, they are rarely describing values. They are describing an experience. Often it sounds like resistance on the surface. But beneath it, something more specific is happening: Disconnection from meaning. From impact. From each other. Sometimes from themselves. Inclusion becomes exhausting when it is treated as an initiative rather than an environment. When language expands but daily experience doesn’t change. When expectations increase faster than people’s capacity to understand or embody them. The effort then feels performative instead of relational. Earlier in The Human Shift, Culture Is What People Carry Home We explored how inclusion fatigue often emerges when people cannot locate inclusion in lived interactions—only in messaging. Without experience, even well-intended work begins to feel like compliance. The fatigue isn’t coming from caring too much. It’s coming from not knowing where caring actually lands. Reframe Fatigue is not a failure of values. It is a signal of misalignment. And misalignment does not ask for abandonment. It asks for reconnection. One Grounded Practice Instead of asking, “How do we do inclusion better?” ask: “Where are people most disconnected right now?” Listen specifically for: moments people feel unseen moments people feel cautious speaking moments effort does not match impact This shifts the conversation from strategy to experience—and experience is where inclusion either exists or does not. Closing Reflection If inclusion were measured by everyday interactions instead of organizational intention, what would you notice first? Contextual Depth Signal In my equity and leadership advisory work, organizations often regain momentum not by adding new initiatives but by reconnecting daily behavior with stated purpose. When inclusion becomes experiential rather than instructional, energy returns quickly. In the shift, Dr. Nika White P.S. Where in your environment right now does inclusion feel most like a requirement—and where does it feel like belonging?

The Stories We Tell Under Pressure

By Nika White • February 16, 2026
Under pressure, leaders tell stories quickly. About intent. About risk. About who can be trusted. About what’s possible. These stories shape behavior long before policies or plans do. Often, they go unexamined solidifying into assumptions that guide decisions and culture quietly. Reframe Stories don’t just explain reality. They create it. Especially in moments of uncertainty. One Grounded Practice The next time tension rises, ask: “What story am I telling myself right now—and what story might someone else be telling?” This question opens space for curiosity instead of certainty. Closing Reflection What story is guiding your leadership right now—and does it still serve? Contextual Depth Signal Working with leadership narratives (especially under pressure) is a core part of my coaching and facilitation work. When stories shift, behavior often follows. In the shift, Dr. Nika White

Accountability Without Shame

By Nika White • February 9, 2026
Many leaders associate accountability with discomfort—and assume that discomfort is necessary for change. But there’s a difference between discomfort that leads to growth and shame that leads to withdrawal. Shame narrows attention. It triggers defensiveness. It interrupts learning. And yet, many accountability practices rely on it—often unintentionally. True accountability doesn’t require humiliation or fear. It requires clarity, dignity, and repair. Reframe Accountability is not about control. It’s about alignment. And alignment happens best when people feel safe enough to stay present. One Grounded Practice Before offering feedback, pause and ask: “Is my goal correction, or connection that allows correction to land?” This shift often changes: Tone Timing Impact Accountability rooted in dignity sustains trust rather than eroding it. Closing Reflection Where might accountability become more effective if shame were removed from the equation? Contextual Depth Signal This distinction is foundational in how I support leaders navigating performance and culture. Accountability without shame strengthens trust and resilience—especially in moments that matter most. In the shift, Dr. Nika White

Culture Is What People Carry Home

By Nika White • February 2, 2026
Culture doesn’t end when the meeting does. It lingers in the body long after the workday is over showing up in dinner conversations, sleep patterns, patience levels, and the quiet exhaustion people struggle to name. We often talk about culture in abstract terms: values, engagement, and belonging. But culture is experienced somatically. It’s how it feels to speak up. How it feels to make a mistake. How it feels to be seen—or overlooked. When work consistently requires people to brace, perform, or self-monitor, the cost doesn’t stay at work. It travels home with them. Reframe Culture is not what organizations intend. It’s what people absorb. And what people absorb shapes how they show up everywhere else. One Grounded Practice Ask yourself: “How do people likely feel at the end of a typical workday with me?” Not how you hope they feel. Not what the values statement says. What their nervous system might carry. This question alone can shift how leaders present themselves in small but meaningful ways. Closing Reflection What might change if culture was measured by what people carry home, not what’s written on the wall? Contextual Depth Signal This lens (culture as lived experience) is central to my work with organizations. When leaders begin here, culture change becomes less performative and far more honest. In the shift, Dr. Nika White

The Body Knows Before the Mind Does

By Nika White • January 26, 2026
Before leaders articulate misalignment, the body often registers it first. Sleep disruptions. Tightness before meetings. A low-grade fatigue that doesn’t resolve with rest. These are not failures of resilience. They are signals of adaptation. The nervous system is constantly scanning for safety, threat, and load. When demands exceed capacity, the body adjusts—sometimes through tension, sometimes through withdrawal, sometimes through control. Leadership cultures that reward composure often train people to override these signals. But ignoring the body doesn’t eliminate its intelligence. It just delays the cost. Reframe The body is not an obstacle to leadership. It’s an early warning system. Leaders who learn to listen sooner tend to retain more choices later. One Grounded Practice Once a day, pause and ask: “What sensation is most present in my body right now?” No analysis. No fixing. Just notice. This simple practice builds the muscle of attunement, allowing leaders to respond to strain before it hardens into burnout or reactivity. Closing Reflection What has your body been signaling that your mind has been negotiating with? Contextual Depth Signal This work (helping leaders recognize and respond to bodily signals) is central to how I support sustainable leadership. When leaders trust this form of intelligence, decision-making becomes clearer and cultures become more humane. In the shift, Dr. Nika White

Capacity Is Not Infinite

By Nika White • January 20, 2026
High-capacity leaders are often rewarded for stretching. Carrying more responsibility. Absorbing more tension. Operating as the stabilizer when systems feel strained. Over time, this becomes identity: I ’m the one who can handle it. But capacity is not limitless and treating it as such eventually erodes judgment, creativity, and relational presence. Honoring capacity is not about doing less; it's about doing more. It’s about leading sustainably. When leaders ignore capacity signals, they don’t just risk burnout; they lose access to discernment. Decisions become reactive. Boundaries blur. The work begins to feel heavier than it should. Reframe Capacity is not a measure of worth. It’s information. And leaders who listen to it lead longer and better. One Grounded Practice This week, experiment with this question: “If I were stewarding my capacity—not spending it—what would change here?” Notice: • Where you’re saying yes by default • Where rest is postponed rather than planned • Where responsibility has quietly become self-abandonment Stewardship is a leadership practice, not a personal failure. Closing Reflection What is your capacity asking of you right now? Contextual Depth Signal In my leadership programs and advisory work, capacity stewardship is treated as a strategic skill—not a personal preference. Leaders who learn to work with capacity create more resilient teams and more humane outcomes. In the shift, Dr. Nika White

The Shift from Bracing to Grounding

By Nika White • January 12, 2026
Bracing is one of the most common and least discussed leadership patterns I see. It shows up quietly: A tightening in the chest before a meeting... A subtle urgency in decision-making... A readiness to withstand rather than to engage... Most leaders don’t recognize bracing as something they’re doing. They experience it as who they need to be in order to perform. Bracing becomes synonymous with responsibility, strength, and composure. And yet, bracing is not a leadership trait. It’s a nervous system response. Bracing is what happens when the body senses pressure and prepares to endure it. It’s adaptive. Intelligent. Protective. Especially for leaders who operate in high-stakes environments where mistakes feel costly and steadiness is expected. The problem isn’t bracing itself. The problem is living there. Grounding is the shift that allows leaders to remain connected to themselves while meeting the moment. It doesn’t reduce standards or urgency. It changes how those standards are held. When leaders are grounded: Authority feels embodied, not force Decisions include more discernment and less reactivity Others experience safety without the leader having to perform calm Reframe Bracing narrows leadership capacity. Grounding expands it. This isn’t about eliminating stress. It’s about not allowing stress to hijack presence. One Grounded Practice This week, notice when you brace—not why. Pay attention to: The moment just before a difficult interaction The impulse to speed up or tighten control Physical cues like shallow breath or jaw tension Instead of correcting it, try this: Place one hand on your body (chest, stomach, or thigh) and slow your exhale by two counts. That’s it. Grounding often begins with the body, not the mind.  Closing Reflection Where might grounding serve you better than bracing right now? Contextual Depth Signal This shift—from bracing to grounding—is foundational in my coaching and leadership work. It’s where leaders begin learning how to stay present and authoritative under real pressure, rather than relying on endurance alone. In the shift, Dr. Nika White