Race. Discrimination. Injustice. How your company can take an active role in combating systemic racism.
Over these past few weeks, we have seen the world show up in support of black lives. After the tragic loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, protestors have shown their support and taken a stance against racism and injustice. The message is strong: enough is enough. Now is not the time to remain silent, and many businesses have publicly expressed their position against racism through statements, pledging financial donations to combat injustice, and reviewing their own internal practices.
Businesses, just like everyone else, have a responsibility to reflect on what’s happening in their own house. It is not an easy process and organizations that have been able to target this immediately are standing out as advocates for positive change. Their public stance against racial and systemic injustice not only sends a message about their corporate values, but what their customers/clients, employees, partners, and the broader community can expect from them.
Words matter but it’s how we show up and move forward that contributes to real change. As a business, we encourage you to reflect on your past and current practices through a critical lens, coupled with compassion and empathy, and then take the next and far more important step of turning that reflection into action. To help you get started, we’ve outlined key steps you can take to create real and lasting change against racial inequities in the workplace.
Look at your leadership: Real change has to begin at the top with leadership. Last week, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, announced that he will be stepping down from his seat on the board so a black candidate can take his place. This is what progressive leadership looks like - it’s ensuring the decision makers are diverse, have different perspectives, and are able to offer insight into how an organization can benefit from taking those perspectives and life experiences into consideration. A diverse leadership team doesn’t create conflict, it does the opposite - it creates value-add and contributes to an inclusive and barrier free workplace culture which recognizes that people perceive and experience the world differently from one another.
Critically examine the demographic makeup of your staff and within your teams. What do the top 10% of senior leaders look like? How many female managers do you have? How many racialized managers do you have? What is their experience like and what type of support and networks do you have in place to support employee groups with diverse needs?
The Centre for Community Organizations has an insightful tool titled The “Problem” Woman of Colour in the Workplace which depicts a common experience for women of colour in the not-for-profit sector. The diagram highlights the importance of collecting feedback from staff to get a real picture of lived experience with racial inequities and microaggressions in the workplace. Using tools like this one to learn and gather insights can help you develop a plan of action to address potential challenges and create the support needed for success.
Raise awareness: Feedback is incredibly powerful, and what better place to start then with your own staff. Consider hosting focus groups or run confidential surveys to get a pulse on how your company is contributing to its goals. To begin, create a safe space to discuss lived experiences on issues such as racism, racial and systemic inequities, microaggressions, and privilege in the workplace. Privilege in the workplace can be a challenging topic to navigate in organizations with deeply rooted systemic inequities or a culture of entitlement. We encourage you to support dialogue that may be uncomfortable for some staff. Lean into the discomfort - this is where growth happens. By creating a safe space for honest dialogue, you establish trust and may be surprised to learn that your practices may not be as progressive or inclusive as you had thought. It is often reported that women in management and racialized employee groups have very different experiences than their non-diverse counterparts and unfortunately, there are little (if any) resources to support them. Over time, they may experience low levels of engagement and ultimately leave the organization.
The process of having these difficult and sometimes uncomfortable conversations to understand how racial discrimination and injustice impacts lives is critical. Listen and learn. Let the data help you understand how your company is living up to its ideals or commitments, and use the information to guide the direction you decide to take. Build awareness, grow allyship, and gather data to help you develop strategies to create an open and supportive work environment.
Expand your talent pool: It’s one thing to talk about diversity and inclusion within the workplace, and another to actively find ways to make it happen. For any business interested in providing opportunities to those facing barriers, you need to target communities to understand what those barriers are, then think about how your own business practices might be contributing to those challenges. Job advertisements are a good place to start. If every job opportunity within your organization requires an undergraduate degree, without realizing it, you are shutting the door for groups of people who may not have the opportunity to obtain a post secondary education. Are your job fairs only held at colleges and universities? What type of internship or entry level positions do you provide, and what types of qualifications are you seeking for those junior roles?
There are also some incredible organizations like Tropicana Community Services who partner with the United Way to provide mentorship and career-oriented networking opportunities for youth facing barriers. Consider establishing partnerships and learn how you can build meaningful and inclusive employment opportunities for a diverse group of candidates.
Think about the candidate experience: The candidate experience begins the moment your job posting goes live and until someone is offered the job. And each step along this journey can contribute to the reputation of your company.
Part of creating a positive candidate experience is to remove barriers. Start by examining how you conduct interviews: What types of questions will you ask? Are you using plain language? Are your interview questions made up of multiple questions which may be a barrier for some candidates? Is your interview panel diverse? Have you reviewed the pool of candidates for diversity in background and experiences? Does your process make candidates feel comfortable or intimidated? Are you providing candidates opportunities to succeed?
Also, how lengthy is your recruitment process? A long, multi-stage interview process may mean that some candidates have to take time away from a paid job or that they now have to make alternate childcare arrangements. Step back and consider how something that appears inclusive to you may actually be creating barriers for some candidates.
Create a culture of action: Some of the best and most progressive workplaces ensure that diversity and inclusion are a top organizational priority. To start, companies need to take a pulse of their current practices and whether they are contributing to or combating barriers. Get a sense of how staff are feeling, if their differences are recognized and celebrated, and if any barriers are identified. Consider forming a committee of employees that focus on improving diversity and inclusion, barrier-free practices, and increasing understanding and acceptance in the workplace. Invite speakers to share their lived experiences, build understanding and awareness of systemic issues and challenges, cultural sensitivities, and educate your staff on appropriate use of language and terminology. Ingrain it deep into your culture and everything that you do. Listen to what your employees are saying and take action to address their concerns. And collect data year over year to assess the impact of your actionable measures and report the data to leadership for continued support and lasting change.
We can all agree that 2020 will stand out as a year to remember. Now is a time for reflection and action. We all have an important role as allies and partners in combating systemic racism. Educate yourself and your staff, learn how your work can support the broader community, and what type of actions can be taken to best support structural change.
Interested in creating a strategy to combat systemic inequalities in the workplace? Get in touch via hello@mondaymorning.ca
About us: At Monday Morning, we are a team of HR consultants in the Toronto area supporting businesses with their HR needs. With over 15 years of experience, we provide expert HR advice, build people and culture programs for some of the best workplaces, and develop customized solutions to meet your needs. We take the worry out of HR so you can focus on your business
