The events of 2020 have had a great impact on society, encouraging the implementation of tangible change on numerous aspects of people’s lives. From selecting where to shop, to choosing who to keep close and how to speak to people, 2020 has influenced the decision-making process of society.
Corporations are a big element to consider when mentioning society, and according to Edelman, accountability has become a very prominent aspect of corporate social responsibility in the past year. Throughout the summer of 2020, companies have been asked to share their racial distribution percentages through the ‘Pull Up or Shut Up’ challenge on Instagram and in most cases, diversity disappears upon further advancement on the corporate ladder.
A Harvard Business Review article underlines what it is like to be black at the workplace and points to three types of racial related barriers that black people face: aversive racism which describes situations where people limit their interactions with those from different racial backgrounds, modern racism where generally white people believe that because black people now have the opportunity to compete in the corporate world, they are no longer discriminated based on their skin colour and microaggressions which can refer to a large number of situations, for example, believing a black executive to have less authority than their white colleagues.
Award-winning entrepreneur and director at Ucreate PR and Events Management Tamika Martin, explains how can companies reduce racial bias and avoid situations where Black employees are made to feel inferior or not good enough for leadership roles.
Support Black employees
The numerous deaths of black individuals at the hands of policemen in America has disturbed the whole world, but people should comprehend the differences in how an individual’s race can influence the variation in how these events are perceived. Thus, companies should value their black employees’ opinions, emotions and mental health to recognise their inherent experiences when it comes to racism at face value.
If an employee speaks out about being discriminated against at work based on what they believe is the colour of their skin, the HR department should not question whether they provoked someone or not without clear evidence.
Validating and recognising someone’s experience without challenging it creates a trustworthy environment where teams feel empowered and encouraged to speak out against unfair treatment, further reinforcing ethical company values.
Build minority alliances within the company
Providing employees a safe space to relate, interact and network rises their confidence at the work place. It has been proven that having someone to relate to at work can positively impact performance and reduce burnout.
Diversity and inclusion unions can offer teams the opportunity to support, educate and develop through events, interactions and amplification of mental health and well-being at work.
Companies should carefully consider the role of diversity and inclusion programs which is not to further cause division between employees, but to help with their professional and personal development. Thus, everyone who shares the same opinions and values should be offered the chance to get involved.
More importantly, the union should be led by a Corporate Social Responsibility Officer or a Diversity and Inclusion Officer, not by a black employee who is overworked and stressed by general job tasks and has to take on an extra job to represent the company.
Get the house in order
Truth is everyone, regardless of their race, desires a safe and secure workspace where their opinions and experiencers are taken into consideration without being intimidated or silenced by their superiors.
Ensuring the HR department comprises of people from different racial backgrounds to avoid bias and enhance hiring diverse talent at all levels is crucial. According to a Harvard Business School article, the entire HR department should be taught how to remove racial bias from the recruitment process. Moreover, holding managers accountable, not ignoring accusations of mistreatment and penalising those responsible makes a huge impact on the process of developing an ideal work environment and demonstrates the company’s commitment.
This reflects back on the first point of this article, that listening, understanding and supporting employees is vital in the organisational culture.
Offer everyone equal chances to step up on the corporate ladder
A research conducted by BCG Henderson Institute has proven that implementing diversity at leadership level brings in numerous benefits, from renumeration to overall performance. Additionally, the same research determined that diversity boosts innovation as giving people from different backgrounds the same task gives them the opportunity to discover different approaches to deal with it.
Making training and development classes available to everyone, not only to employees with certain experience, performance levels and from certain backgrounds, is an important step to achieve fair treatment in a company.
Nonetheless, offering everyone equal chances to be promoted can only be achieved by reducing bias in the company, specifically at management level.
Encourage discussions about race
Experts have discovered that many white people are vague and reluctant when it comes to conversations about race, while many people of colour refrain from these conversations not to be seen as a someone who complains a lot. Whether they are afraid of their own inherit bias or nervous about someone else’s opinions, some people avoid racial conversations.
In order to encourage these talks, a good initiative may be launching conversations with black employees on the obstacles they have faced at the company related to their race and asking for opinions on how to limit these impediments, if not to dismantle them. Of course, as a manager, expectations should be limited to unpleasant answers as racism, tokenism and seclusion are generally known to be issues integrated in the corporate culture at large.
The key to progression is perseverance and persistence! A team will not become diverse overnight, but it’s important to invest in making it a priority and switching from a revenue focused company to an organisation which values employee’s wellbeing. A happy workforce translates into profitability.
