"Talking About Race is Divisive"
Sep 25, 2022
This is the belief of many leaders and so instead of investing in mechanisms that work to create a genuinely equitable workplace, issues are dealt with ‘stick a plaster on it’ temporary measures or even worse, by sweeping them under the carpet.
“We did this free online 10-minute unconscious bias training before, but it didn’t do much for the black people in the organisation. The racist behaviour continued.”
This is all-too-common feedback I hear. It’s like painting the monster magnolia to blend in with the walls. Just because you can’t see it as easily, doesn’t mean it’s gone away.
You might be thinking that by discussing discrimination in general, this will be enough to deal with issues of racism within the company, so investment is poured into…
- Updating antidiscrimination policies
- Producing more diverse photographs for the website
- Hiring a diversity coordinator who has very little support
- Bringing in samosas and jerk chicken for the ‘Cultural Day’ celebrations
Yet still, black, and other ethnic minority staff are still leaving at an uncontrollable rate and complaints are still being made about the microaggressions they face daily. The ‘It’s only banter” lines are not working.
In an age where talking about race is more prominent that ever and where public support for issues affecting racialised minorities is growing, companies who fail to deal with the issue of racism are likely to find they become less attractive employers and brands and ultimately this will affect profits and reputations.
The strategy organisations could be utilising is a two-pronged approach.
1) Celebrating difference when opportunities arise.
2) Work on dismantling and recreating systems, policies, procedures attitudes and behaviours that contribute to institutional racism.
Now, of course number 2 takes priority, but it doesn’t hurt to have some fun along the way, that can help to develop more positive attitudes towards racial and cultural differences.
However, companies definitely cannot do step 1 and not commit to step 2. Imagine a company has an amazing Eid celebration to show its support of Muslim staff but…
- Because decision makers are white and secular, concerns about mistreatment from other staff members still are not adequately dealt with.
- Opportunities for promotion of ethnic minorities are still severely limited.
- Most of the ethnic minority workers are on zero-hour contracts and therefore their positions are precarious.
- During recruitment days (because advertising approaches haven’t changed), the same faces that mirror that of the board’s are showing up and it looks as though ethnic minority staff are not interested in the roles.
Though staff are now able to recognise Eid as an important time of celebration for Muslim people, this approach has done nothing to deal with the underlying issues affecting culturally and racially marginalised staff.
Look, what I am about to say, may not please HR managers, but if a lack of time (a common complaint) is the reason for not committing to antiracism work, cancel your Black History Month celebrations and instead use the time to develop a meaningful approach to antiracism that enables long-lasting cultural shifts.
During the year 2020, when the Black Lives Matter protests were at their height, I would many black employees in my inbox complaining about the posturing of their organisation and willing me to come help.
One huge national organisation (I won’t mention names) had staff write an open letter that went viral, expressing their frustrations and anger about the empty gestures the company had made to ‘support’ black staff. The organisation had posted a black square to show their ‘concern’ for its black staff. A statement had hurriedly been posted on the website on how they stand with their black staff and how black lives do matter. However, staff were quick to point out the company’s contradictions in the ways they were not listened to, and how black staff members’ complaints and were not acted upon.
This led to a long dragged-out public wrangling between staff and the company. As you can imagine, amongst all else, this was a PR disaster.
It didn’t have to be this way.
If there is a lack of understanding of the needs and experiences of ethnic minority staff, companies just need to hire more ethnic minority staff, right?
Wrong. Well at least in the first instance. There is a far more pressing step to be taken. There is no point bringing new ethnic minority staff into an environment that has not been primed to receive them. Companies that do this face the same issues.
Ethnic minorities
- Often do not feel they can speak to their managers and colleagues about issues of racism when they arise as they fear they won’t be believed.
- They know that most white people fear being called racist and know that by bringing up such issues it increases the possibility of having a very difficult working life in future.
- Daily microaggressions wear people thin and because they’re often seen as insignificant, so ethnic minorities internalise the impact and this negatively affects their mental wellbeing.
So what can be done?
Companies must ensure staff understand microaggressions and how to counteract them. Of all the parts of our training at Strawberry Words, it is learning about microaggressions that garners the most fascination because most people often say they were not aware of the concept or the ways in which they subject others to racial discrimination by making such statements as:
- “I don’t see colour”
- “Where are you from? Where are you really from?”
- “My best friend is black.”
Many statements and behaviours that discriminate against ethnic minorities have been normalised and therefore legitimised.
Staff need an education on racial microaggressions.
They need to know:
- What microaggressions are and plenty examples so they are recognisable.
- How they impact racially marginalise people
- How to manage difficult conversations when they arise
- How to support ethnic minorities
- How to use microinterventions to counteract
We cover all the above and more in our Understanding Microaggressions – the subtle racism online CPD accredited course.
In 2.5 hours, staff cover:
Module 1
- Who are ethnic minorities?
- What is Racism?
- Antiblackness
- Assessment
Module 2
- What are microaggressions?
- Microassaults
- Microinsults
- Microinvalidations
- Assessment
Module 3
- Impact
- Coping mechanisms
- Assessment
Module 4
- Microinterventions
- Methods to manage difficult conversations
- A.C.T.I.O.N Model
- How micro-affirmations can be used to counteract
- When not to address microaggressions
- Microaggressions frequently asked questions
- Assessment
Some organisations choose to further engage by taking up the hybrid option, where after studying the course, we meet with staff to answer questions, discuss the content and run exercises to ensure the learning in embedded.
The University of Sussex, charity Birth Companions, Surfers Against Sewage are all repeat clients of ours as they understand the importance of teaching staff on microaggressions.
That’s all folks! Staff need to understand why behaviours and attitudes must change towards ethnic minorities before they can genuinely get behind systemic changes in the name of antiracism. To do that, they need to learn and talk about it.
Send me a direct message today, so we can get your staff educated on microaggressions in psychological safe spaces soon.
Wishing you lots of success
Rebbecca ‘creating cultural harmony’ Hemmings
Talking about racism can seem difficult and uncomfortable. This CPD accredited course provides a foundational education on racism to help to increase racial literacy which includes building confidence to speak about and deal with issues concerning race. It provides a language through which meaningful conversation can take place (particularly in the workplace).
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.