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Microaggressions, I mostly agree. Hidden biases, though, are verifiable--like the multiple studies showing that identical resumes with a traditionally white or black name at the top get vastly different rates of interview requests. By assuming that the headhunters aren't knowingly rejecting candidates by race and are only acting on hidden biases, I'm actually giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, another study showed that when given a quick-thinking "shoot the bad guys but avoid the hostages" kind of test, both black and white participants were more likely to accidentally shoot the black hostages. I fully agree that accusing someone of racism isn't going to win them over, but it helps to acknowledge that there's stuff our brains do that we don't even know they do. I, personally, have found I'm sexist against women to a surprising degree--when I really stop and look at my gut reactions, I find that I dislike them more, trust them less, and assume incompetence faster than I will with a man. I try to check myself regularly because I know that for whatever reason--childhood bullies all being girls, subtle messaging from my dad who literally seemed to forget I was a girl sometimes*, who knows what else--I'm naturally biased.
*I swear to God he'd give me marriage advice about women, like "if you want to know what a girl's going to be like when she gets older, look at her mother."
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