Leaked Target Document Reveals That Corporate Diversity Training Is Really Weird And Uncomfortable

Target recently got some pretty unfavorable press coverage after a discrimination lawsuit unveiled a racist "multicultural tips" document handed out at a Yolo County warehouse.

The issue of race and stereotypes is difficult for large, lawsuit-phobic corporations. When they try to deal with it, the results are pretty awkward, it turns out.

Kim Bhasin at the Huffington Post got a copy of an internal document Target uses to train managers on situations that might arise related to race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, and more. The script attempts to translate what would likely be an incredibly tense and possibly racially charged moment in real life into legally bulletproof and anodyne HR-speak.

Here's a full example, which tries to walk managers through responding to a team member's use of a stereotype about African Americans.

After the remark, the fictional manager is able to defuse the situation and turn the conversation back to productivity in one sentence:

"Wait a minute. We're not going to solve our problems by talking about other people's work habits. In fact, all these comments can do is pull our team apart – and I'm not going to tolerate them. Now, any other ideas for getting those productivity numbers up?

Here's the full scenario:

Find more of the document at The Huffington Post