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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 4
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/assrj.104.14553. Steinmetz, C. H. D., & Salim, D. (2023). Managing Othering from a Leadership Perspective. Advances in Social Sciences Research
Journal, 10(4). 397-421.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Managing Othering from a Leadership Perspective
Carl H. D. Steinmetz
Expats & Immigrants, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dliman Salim
University of Applied Sciences Windesheim,
Almere, the Netherlands
ABSTRACT
Goals: How to counter othering is the main topic of this article. Government leaders,
politicians, CEOs, chief executives and service leaders have an important role to
play in addressing othering. Othering is more widespread than we think. The
academic literature focuses mainly on belonging. Perhaps it is because this focus
serves the neoliberal agenda of competition and success. This article also discusses
the various theories related to othering. Professor Dr. Lewis R. Gordon's
philosophical work on othering is crucial. Method: A literature review and
empirical research, mainly large and small surveys, were used. Results: Othering is
a many-headed monster. Othering facilitates (neo-) colonization and (modern)
slavery, wars and genocide, institutional and structural racism, the manipulation of
a society to make it a class society with a significant class of haves and have-nots,
and everyday racism between (groups of) individuals. The approach is
multifaceted. To counter othering, lawsuits against corporations and institutions
can be used to enforce reparations (aimed at restoring the perpetrator's morale)
and further by activating witness interventions. Social media facilitate othering.
Therefore, it is useful to distinguish between the real world and the virtual world.
This is also because the effects of these worlds merge. Othering through social
media is very threatening. In this article, a "Human Appreciation Ratio" was
developed. The concrete concept questionnaire is included in Appendix 1. This ratio
is a measure of the sense of belonging and othering experiences. With this ratio,
companies, institutions, and governments can determine how well they deserve the
labels they have given themselves, such as "diverse and inclusive”. The theoretical
underpinnings of othering arose long ago when Westerners viewed non- Westerners as inferior. This began during the Enlightenment with the distinction
between the so-called traditional world (non-Western world) and the modern
world (Western world, especially Europe).
Keywords: othering, belonging, management, restorative reparation, human
appreciation ratio, bystander intervention, lawsuits, domesticating reality
INTRODUCTION
Addressing othering is a difficult task. Especially because it is hidden in the capillaries of our
socio-economic-welfare society. It is visible, for example, in the polarization of human
expression on the Internet and its social media. Othering is also present in institutions and
companies that employ people who may or may not resemble them. In addition, othering has
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 4, April-2023
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
acquired existence (sic) in laws, directives and administrative structures for which
governments and parliaments are responsible, as the Dutch Allowance and Algorithm affair
shows. It is clear that combating othering requires a strong commitment from CEO’s, managers
and directors, not only by leading by example, but also by helping to shape policy, work,
communication and development processes. In this article, we will try to explore what othering
is and what can be done about it. So, we begin our discussion with babies, the first visible
beginnings of "innocent" life.
From birth to death, people may or may not belong to groups of people. Belonging is called
"sense of belonging" and not belonging is called "sense of othering. The social sciences study
both concepts. Below are definitions of Belonging and Othering.
“Belonging is being accepted and invited to participate; being part of something and having the
opportunity to show-up as yourself. More than that, it means being able to raise issues and
confront harsh truths as a full member of a community. Othering, by contrast, is treating people
from another group as essential different from and generally inferior to the group you belong
to (Wise, 2022).”
As a baby, you are born into a family, ideally with a mother, father and siblings. This family is
part of an (extended) family, and the (extended) family is part of a tribe in some non-Western
countries. The (extended) family is also part of a faith community and a culture. Intuitively,
these are all groups of people that this baby is a part of. But are there any groups of people that
the baby does not belong to? We must remember that it is a human tendency to protect a baby.
The assumption behind this human tendency is that a baby is very vulnerable and entitled to
our "protection," no matter who we are.
Figure 1: Baby and Belonging (source: https://ap.lc/sDW4X)
However, there are groups to which the baby does not belong. Examples of such groups include
people from other countries, people of different faiths, people from different cultures, people
of different colors, people from different regions such as the mountains, the countryside, or
near the sea. The mere observation that these are other groups into which babies were not born
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Steinmetz, C. H. D., & Salim, D. (2023). Managing Othering from a Leadership Perspective. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(4). 397-
421.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.104.14553
does not automatically imply that these babies do not belong to these groups. Nevertheless,
people accept babies in the above groups. They embrace them wholeheartedly. Babies evoke
feelings of affection in people from all over the world, regardless of their background.
The (grand)children of immigrants, refugees and expats are the main focus of this article. It is
precisely these (grand)children who regularly experience othering. We used the Racial
Discrimination Survey, which includes a key question, to understand the global and national
scope of othering: "How big a problem is racial discrimination in the country where you live?”
The results range from 2.26 (low) to 6.86 (high). The Netherlands (3.93) is in the middle: 57th
out of 76 countries. One caveat to this survey on racial discrimination is that this index is not
known for many countries.
“Of the 17.6 million inhabitants on January 1, 2022, 2.6 million were born abroad. They came
to the Netherlands as immigrants. The remaining 15.0 million people were born in the
Netherlands. Of these, 2.0 million belong to the second generation: they were born in the
Netherlands themselves and one or both parents were born abroad. Just over half of them (1.1
million) have one parent born abroad and one born in the Netherlands, and just under half (910
thousand) have two parents born abroad1.”
The European Union2 claims the following failure: "The fight against discrimination and hatred
against minorities is still failing after almost 10 years. Some of the key findings for the
Netherlands are:
1. In the Netherlands, 65% of North African respondents and 58% of Turkish respondents
said they had experienced discrimination in the last five years, compared with 45% of
all North Africans and 34% of all Turks surveyed in the EU. Discrimination in the
Netherlands was most prevalent among both North African (52%) and Turkish (40%)
respondents when using public and private services.
2. 40% of North African respondents in the Netherlands and 37% of Turkish respondents
reported experiencing hate harassment in the past year, compared to 29% and 23%
respectively of all North African and Turkish respondents in the EU.
3. Compared to the general population in the Netherlands (72%), fewer North Africans
(67%) and Turks (57%) have completed high school. This reduces their chances of
finding a job.
The prelude of this article does not aim to express that babies presumably belong to ‘all’ groups
on earth. However, we want to show that belonging or not belonging at the beginning of life -
i.e., as a baby - is probably not yet subject to group formation: "YOU belong to ME/US and YOU
don't." Belonging does not come naturally. Attention must be paid to sense of belonging in the
education of very young children.
“Young children are people that have rights to ‘be’ as they are and to ‘belong’ to a loving and
supportive community of care, extending from parents and caregivers to their nursery settings
and beyond3.”
1 https://ap.lc/mtMui
2 https://ap.lc/ZG5OD
3 https://ap.lc/Mt7FG