Racial discrimination was thrust into the spotlight once again last year. But for many, the day-to-day experience of it has never dimmed.
In the UK, discrimination by employers against job applicants with an ethnic minority background was found to be at the same levels as the 1960s, a 2019 report by Oxford University’s Centre for Social Investigation at Nuffield College has found.
Last year, a YouGov poll of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) young people found almost half saying their career development had been affected due to their ethnicity or that they had encountered prejudice about their skills based on their race.
One of the more revealing findings in the poll was that more than a third of those surveyed said they had been racially abused in the workplace.
The study also found that half of those surveyed had been racially abused in the street.
The workplace should offer more security from racial prejudice, or at least be a substantively safer environment than the street, but the research doesn’t back this up.
It is hard to deny the evidence that we have a racism and discrimination problem. It is not a revelation to many, especially not those from minority backgrounds, but recently it feels like the conversation has shifted.
After the killing in the US last year of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer, we witnessed an upsurge of support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement across the world.
Typically, businesses tend to avoid commenting on issues of race or other social issues. To unprecedented levels, large numbers of business leaders spoke out in support of BLM on social media.
It’s difficult to know yet whether those corporate proclamations of support for BLM will materialise into concrete actions in the workplace, when most employees around the world have been working from home due to the pandemic.
It is hard to deny the evidence that we have a racism and discrimination problem
Still, over the past few years, large organisations have increasingly been aware of the need for inclusion in the workplace and have set up networks for black and other ethnic minority staff in addition to groups designed to support employees, LGBTQ+ colleagues and people of different faiths and beliefs.
Quantifying their impact, understanding whether their existence has translated into progress in career terms is difficult, because there is little measurement data.
This is not entirely the fault of the organisations. People are increasingly distrustful of companies collecting personal data on issues such as race, religion and sexual orientation.
Despite BAME networks existing for a number of years, their effectiveness is questioned by individuals with experience of them.
Kunle Aladewolu, manager, capital markets and treasury at Actualize Consulting, says he was part of such a network at a former employer – a large firm. And while it was helpful to connect with other BAME staff members, the network didn’t help progress his career.
“It can feel like more of a support group than anything else. So, it’s not really changing anyone’s career pathway,” Aladewolu says – although he says the groundswell of support for BLM following last year’s events may have encouraged positive change.
Kemi Bolarin, director treasury operations at Travelport, says when it comes to increasing inclusivity, other approaches are needed. “I always feel strongly about the impact that visible representation will have on resolving race issues,” she says, “because you can only become what you see.
“If we do not make a conscious effort to resolve the pipeline that gets people from junior to senior level within a workplace, then we won’t fix the problem.”
84% of BAME Britons think the UK is still very or somewhat racist (YouGov)
To make diversity and inclusion networks effective, she notes, they have to be led by high-level sponsors.
Adesola Orimalade, treasurer at travel company Kiwi, goes further. “I have never been at an organisation where there is a strong BAME network with a five- to 10-year plan,” he says. “The networks are established and then left to run. It’s more of a box-ticking exercise.
“An effective network should be integrated into the organisation’s strategy and have a long-term plan with expected outcomes.”
The annual Black History Month, he points out, is a good example of how many organisations approach inclusion, as if it only matters for one month a year.
Orimalade, who mentors and volunteers at Working Options in Education, Migrant Leaders and South Essex College, says that inclusion networks should also regularly be challenged about their goals and outcomes.
“People often don’t join these networks because they don’t see a plan or the benefit of it to their careers,” he adds.
These treasurers’ experiences are borne out by consultants’ evidence, too.
Jonathan Taylor, business psychologist at organisational psychologists Pearn Kandola, says: “There’s a big disconnect between the organisations that create networks with a very clear purpose and those that just follow the trend. [We] need to feel connected with people similar to ourselves. It’s only when you’re underrepresented you realise suddenly actually how uncomfortable it feels.”
He notes: “Many leaders in organisations, particularly if they’ve never experienced being underrepresented themselves, approach networks from a place of, ‘Most other people are doing networks, we should probably do it, too’.”
We should stop treating the idea of diversity and inclusion as a ‘nice to have’, Taylor argues.
If you dig deeper into the psychology of discrimination, Taylor says, the negative outcomes of feeling excluded have huge health and social consequences that affect an individual’s ability to focus and achieve.
He notes: “Neural imaging studies from the past 15 years show that we have a social alarm sensor that acts as a dimming switch to our brains. It’s called neural hijacking.
“The moment we detect we’re at risk of being rejected from a group, we inadvertently focus on the social cues even more. What that means in the real world is that it interferes with your ability to function in a social group.”
If this were a daily experience, it would undeniably impact on an individual’s performance, he says. “We know that exclusion has a huge impact on mental health.”
And while we understand that inclusivity is lacking in schools, colleges and other institutions, the workplace can certainly do more to make those crucial changes needed.
Aladewolu argues that one of the biggest obstacles to change within organisations is an acknowledgement that there is racial discrimination in the workplace. Organisations could begin to change this by creating safe spaces for everyone to talk about race. This would begin to break down the taboo.
Bolarin argues that diversity networks should be inclusive of all staff members irrespective of ethnicity. Without inclusion they can inadvertently be viewed as exclusive, and that can alienate others.
Making networks inclusive of all people would also avoid the implication that all ethnic minority groups are the same.
34% of those in employment do not consider it a diverse environment (YouGov)
“The experiences of different races within the broad BAME community and how they experience racism and racial biases varies wildly,” Bolarin says, “so again you begin to wonder about the effectiveness of that sort of broad-brush approach.
“Also, a race-network approach can risk being viewed as a tokenistic endeavour where these groups act in isolation and lack the ability to influence wider change.”
Although Aladewolu has never been a fan of positive discrimination, his experience at a previous employer that wanted to recruit more female managers and successfully put in place a plan to do so, has persuaded him of its effectiveness.
So, could organisations and their leaders make progress towards a greater sense of inclusivity by opening up about their own privilege? The treasurers quoted in this article were wary of the idea.
The term ‘white privilege’ is an emotive one.
Bolarin, Orimalade and Aladewolu all argue that when and if business leaders speak about privilege, it should be in much broader terms and not just on ethnicity.
Using the term without due care raises concerns that it will become yet another area or buzzword that corporates pay lip service to.
56% think there is unfair representation of ethnic minorities among business leaders (YouGov)
Orimalade believes we have not yet got to the point in the workplace where business leaders feel confident enough to talk about white privilege – or indeed any kind of privilege. “I think the reason is because it’s a very sensitive subject. It’s very hard to get to that point because it’s a moment of vulnerability. And people don’t want to be vulnerable,” he says.
“There is a negative connotation to the term ‘white privilege’,” Bolarin says. When this word is often applied it can feel negative. And the person it’s applied to would probably take a defensive stance, and understandably so.
“Privilege is not just about race. It’s about gender and social class. And privilege in one area doesn’t necessarily exclude it in other areas.”
Taylor says that when and if management decide to talk about privilege, they should talk about the different intersections and their connections to social mobility. “It should be dealt with sensitively and then you can have a constructive conversation about whether we do actually live in a meritocratic society,” he adds.
For organisations to take diversity and inclusion seriously, they should start with a root-and-branch review of all practices and processes to mitigate risk of unconscious bias and ensure fair outcomes.
Organisations often inadvertently allow too many discretionary choices for individuals particularly in recruitment, which may lead to people – unconsciously or otherwise – hiring people who look like themselves or come from the same background.
Orimalade says: “What I’m hoping for in treasury is that we have more people from BAME backgrounds coming into the profession, and particularly at senior level. That’s where my focus is – to encourage and mentor BAME people.
“When they rise through the ranks, that will change the conversation. There is room for us all.”
In an article in MIT Sloan Management Review, Derek R Avery and Enrica N Ruggs, academics with a focus on inclusion, argue that the numbers speaking out against discrimination in the US since events mid-2020 suggest that the push towards greater accountability and racial equality is gaining ground.
The workplace, they go on to say, remains an important locus for change.
The problem for organisations and leaders has always been finding a way to move credibly from tokenistic statements or sticking-plaster solutions towards meaningful changes.
They posit four strategies:
1. Think long term – Racial discrimination is systemic and structural. Undoing its impact means making substantive change to succession planning by clearly articulating both diversity and inclusion within policy and strategy.
2. Examine the data – How can these sentiments be backed up? Organisations should scrutinise personnel data by race, looking for systemic differences that might indicate discriminatory practices within recruitment and advancement.
3. Same old, same old – Unintentional bias can take many forms, such as qualifications that aren’t really needed for a role but might skew the selection process towards certain groups or neglecting to open events or opportunities to employees across the board. Practices like these must be rooted out.
4. Accountability – Discrimination declines in the face of scrutiny. Surveys and focus groups can yield important insights into progress.
Results from YouGov research of 1,200 BAME interviewees
Possibly as a consequence of the BLM protests, 43% claim to now listen to and read more about issues concerning racism than before; 49% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 48% of black people share this view.
More than half think conversations about racism should be held with family (53%) and friends of a different race (54%).
Regarding changes to the education system, 69% are in favour of updating the school curriculum to include Britain’s colonial past, while 16% don’t think anything needs to change.
Two in five are now educating themselves about race issues.
Michelle Perry is a business and finance editor and writer