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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Tackle systemic racism in the workplace with practical strategies
In The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace, HR strategist Shereen Daniels delivers an incisive and honest discussion of how business leaders can change workplace practices to create a more anti-racist and equitable environment. The author draws on her personal and client-facing experience, historical fact, legal proceedings, HR insights, and quantitative analysis to equip readers with the knowledge and tools they need to transform their companies.
Daniels also looks at:
- The role of executive leaders and how to push past discomfort to credibly and authentically lead change
- Strategies for recognising the problem of systemic racism and implementing impactful solutions
- Why it’s important to empower colleagues to be pioneers of change and how to do that
- Explanations of why diversity and inclusion initiatives haven’t yet solved the problem
- Ways language can either be a weapon to perpetuate systemic racism or a tool to dismantle
An indispensable exploration of how systemic racism is engrained into business structures, policies, and procedures, The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace belongs in the libraries of all business leaders seeking to make their workplace more inclusive and equitable.
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Seitenzahl: 353
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
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Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for
The Anti‐Racist Organization
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Preface
How to Read This Book
1 Entering the Global Race for Racial Equality
Developing Awareness
The Start of Uncomfortable Questions
A Day That Changed Everything
How Tokenism Became the Answer
References
2 Moving Beyond Conversations
We Live in a Racialised Society
The Age of Enlightenment
Wasn't Diversity and Inclusion Supposed to Solve This?
The Origins of Diversity and Inclusion
Racism and Discrimination Are Illegal in the Eyes of the Law
Your Anti‐Racist Leadership Starts Now
References
3 Defining Meaning
Using Language as a Tool to Dismantle Racism
A New Terminology
Black
Colourism
References
4 Starting from Where You Stand
The Easy Solutions Are Rarely the Right Ones
The Four Levels of the Racial Equity Maturity Model
Our Culture Isn't Racist … Is It?
References
5 The Four‐Factor RACE Model
Be Specific
Recognise the Problem
Analyse the Impact
Commit to Action
Empower for Change
Final Thoughts on the Four‐Factor RACE Model
References
6 A Sustainable Future Needs Equity at the Heart
Getting It Right
Focus on Your Lake
The Final 10
References
7 Where Do We Go from Here?
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 Stakeholder capitalism spectrum.
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Shareholder gains versus stakeholder prosperity.
Figure 5.2 VSOVB: Vision, Strategic Objectives, Values, Behaviour.
Guide
Cover Page
Praise for The Anti‐Racist Organization
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Preface
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
End User License Agreement
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Praise for The Anti‐Racist Organization
‘We live in a world built on white supremacy and white privilege. Shereen has written a clear, wonderfully easy‐to‐read book that tells us what we can do about it. From diagnosis to reflection to action, The Anti‐Racist Organization is a blueprint for change and offers a challenge for us to see each other's humanity. Whether you're a leader or an employee, white or Black, I believe you'll gain a lot by reading it.’
Tony Langham, Executive Chair and Co‐founder, Lansons
‘As a finance leader and a white woman, Shereen's words inspire me every day to keep pushing to bring down structural racism both in business and society at large. Shereen is voicing the conversations that your Black and brown colleagues are having behind closed doors every day. Stand up, listen and act. Be part of the change.’
Karla Smith, Lead Finance Director, Ogilvy UK
‘This book weighed heavily on me, as it should. It's unapologetic, enlightening and yet practical. If you are truly interested in becoming an anti‐racist organization, you won't just read this once, but will refer back to it again and again.’
Dr Jane Brearley, Founder & CEO, Intent Health LTD
‘This book is an extension of Shereen's passion, honesty and ability to open your thought process and understanding of the world as it equates to racism. You will question your long standing assumptions/beliefs and/or unconscious thought processes. If you are serious about understanding racism, this is not a “maybe” read but a “must” read for anyone to actively engage in changing the narrative.’
Mary‐Anne Price, HR Director, England Golf
‘This is an honest, thought‐provoking book that takes you on a journey of discomfort that leaves you reflecting on your personal and professional relationship with race and racism.’
Cheryl Samuels, Deputy Director of Workforce Transformation, NHS England
‘What Shereen critiques here is powerful and needed, cuts no punches and tells it straight up; that is what we all need now more than ever before in this crazy world. I urge you to grab this book and read it and read it again and if you're like me you will need to breathe and start at the beginning all over.’
Margot Slattery, Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion, ISS World Services
‘Shereen enlightens the reader with practical steps for those truly motivated to build an Anti‐Racist Organization. This book should be mandatory reading for all CEOs.’
Matthew Phelan, Co‐Founder, The Happiness Index
‘Shereen writes clearly and simply for readers to grasp. If after reading this book you aren't motivated to take transformational action or alter how you do this work, then you need to read it again.’
Cornell Verdeja‐Woodson, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, Headspace Health
The Anti‐Racist Organization
Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace
Shereen Daniels
This edition first published 2022.
Copyright © 2022 by Shereen Daniels. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Shereen Daniels to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Daniels, Shereen, author.
Title: The anti‐racist organization : dismantling systemic racism in the workplace / Shereen Daniels.
Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & sons, Inc., 2022. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021059123 (print) | LCCN 2021059124 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119880622 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119880646 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119880639 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Racism in the workplace—United States. | Discrimination in employment—United States. | Diversity in the workplace—United States. | United States—Race relations.
Classification: LCC HF5549.5.R23 D36 2022 (print) | LCC HF5549.5.R23 (ebook) | DDC 658.30089/00973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021059123
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021059124
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Yevhenii Orlov/Getty Images
To
Black colleagues in every shape and size of organization.
You are not broken.
You don't need fixing.
You matter.
I dedicate this book to you.
Preface
Dismantling racism isn't about who's perfect. It isn't about who's nailed it. It isn't about who's getting public accolades.
It's about who's got the moral courage to do some introspective reflection, and then go, ‘You know what, this isn't right. This is not good enough and we're going to be part of the solution.'
Shereen Daniels
How to Read This Book
Read any traditional marketing ‘bible’ or listen to the advice of seasoned sales professionals and they will all tell you the same thing. When writing a book, particularly a business one, aim to solve the problems of your readers. Make sure you speak their language.
You must resonate with them.
You should make them feel like every word you write is aimed personally at them and that you, and you alone, hold the key to their solving their problems.
Position yourself as the expert.
Reinforce your credibility.
Centre them and their needs.
Always.
When some contacts in my network knew I was writing this book, they had some words of advice along similar lines but specific to the subject matter:
Be careful you don't take things too far in what you write about. You don't want to alienate potential customers
.
You have to know how to play the game and meet people where they are
.
White people are tired of having racism shoved down their throats. We didn't create these problems
.
The problem is that change takes time. You need to be more patient and ease people into this rather than hitting them over the head
.
Don't forget to focus on the good work that organizations have done. It's not all bad news. Could you highlight that in your book, do you think?
Maybe you're someone who has said or thought something akin to these ideas, in relation to this subject matter in other contexts.
The Anti‐Racist Organization isn't a book that panders to whiteness or seeks to make the subject palatable for decision makers. It isn't one that gently cajoles leaders into action, creating a smooth, risk‐free path to racial equity. Nor does it seek to convince anyone that racism is a ‘thing’ and why you should care enough to do differently.
We are beyond this now.
Prioritising the comfort of white leaders is partly why organizations are still microcosms of racism and discrimination. Through ignorance, fear and a lack of addressing the root causes, we have continued to uphold and preserve environments that work for the white majority yet are harmful to Black colleagues.
We cannot disrupt and dismantle what we seek to change if we retreat at the first signs of discomfort, whether that's within ourselves or in our teams.
As someone who is personally impacted by the very topic I advise on, I am no longer motivated by the need to be accepted by the majority, by the demand to maintain the status quo or by the desire to avoid disrupting the apple cart.
I, and millions of people like me, have done that. It has gotten us nowhere. Because here we are, still missing from many corridors of power and still building business cases to dismantle systemic racism.
What to Expect
Each chapter is a quick read that, although light in words, contains considerable content that will prompt questions to which you thought you knew all the answers. You are unlikely to see the world in quite the same way again. You are likely to flinch at times, and that's okay. It's to be expected.
Whilst this book is addressed to you, I'm centring your Black colleagues and the issues at hand that uniquely impact on their experiences in the workplace:
Racism.
Not diversity.
Not inclusion.
Not belonging.
Specifics matter, and it's important we hold the line to ensure that when we are talking about systemic racism, we don't bend and weave with the language we use.
I am compassionate and empathetic in my ongoing challenges to you, because – if you join me – we are walking the same path: using curiosity and introspection to advance racial equity, challenging the deeply held beliefs and values about who we are, what is the leadership legacy we want to leave behind and examining our personal relationship with race and racism.
Detractors believe that to consistently talk about racism, how it shows up, what we should do differently is to stoke fires of division. That it's anti‐white, not professional, inhumane.
I disagree.
Creating environments that mirror the unequal, inequitable aspects of society is inhumane.
Ignoring the lived experiences of colleagues because they are a minority in your organization is inhumane.
Having systems and practices that reward behaviour that excludes people because of their skin colour and other characteristics is inhumane.
Addressing the root cause of systemic racism, drawing attention to where it shows up and how you can take intentional steps to make a difference is one of the most rewarding and impactful cultural transformation programmes you can ever embark on.
You are doing when most are still talking.
That's humanity.
I Did Not Wake up Like This
You could be mistaken for believing that the confidence I have in addressing these issues head on has always been there. You might think to commend me for my bravery and steadfast approach in speaking truth to power. It may seem that my strength of character and openness about advocating for Black people first is the culmination of a life‐long journey that can be traced to some point in my distant past.
The truth is, I didn't wake up like this – not with this level of insight. It was not really an objective decision to channel my HR and leadership experience into advancing racial equity.
For years I had held tight to a belief that we cannot bite the hand that feeds us. I felt obligated to demonstrate gratitude for any and all opportunities that were coming my way, because they weren't typical for people who look like me. I operated from a place of fear, recognising that no matter how senior I got, my position was precarious to many of my colleagues, peers and managers. I was just ‘the Black girl in HR’.
I was taught to turn the other cheek, not to show emotion lest I be typecast as an ‘angry Black woman’ in the workplace. To show a bit more emotion meant I risked intimidating others, particularly those people who ‘aren't used to being around Black people’. I sensed pressure to be held as the exemplary Black person who doesn't make excuses and to be seen as the professional who never ‘plays the race card’.
You've done so well. Clearly racism hasn't affected you like it has other people. Why do you think that is?
Various versions of this statement made me realise the cost of silence – the cost of saying little to nothing about how I really felt, the cost of assimilating and integrating into majority white spaces that were threatened by my presence because I was different. And if there was more than one Black person, well, what's going on here?
Every time certain situations kept happening, I rationalised them away. He didn't mean it. She was just upset. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. I wasn't conciliatory enough, I was too assertive, I wasn't ‘soft’ enough, I was too intimidating.
The reality was that I was afraid, and ashamed of my fear. For all my big talk and bravado, I always stopped short of being myself, because I didn't want to run of the risk of being rejected – by white people, who, in my eyes, held all the power, whilst I and people like me held none.
I could never say this to my colleagues, but I knew. I knew that I lived, worked and played in a society that meant when push came to shove, my life, my dreams, my aspirations didn't matter as much. And despite how much I wished things were different, there wasn't a lot I could do about it.
I had no choice.
Make the best of what I was dealt with, don't let it stop me.
Work that bit harder.
Prove them wrong.
Accept that nothing can change.
On 25 May 2020, the same day George Floyd was murdered, a white woman named Amy Cooper was walking her dog in Central Park in New York City. I'm sure she had no idea that she would soon become the symbolic embodiment of a woman who weaponised her race, all because a Black man reprimanded her for letting her dog run free in an area where leashing is required. Amy called the police, relying on her privilege in being able to do so, knowing she would be believed and the likely outcome facing the Black man she abused. Her phone calls were made mere hours before George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis by a police officer.
Amy Cooper was my reckoning point.
I saw with absolute clarity that I had spent so much of my life surrounded by the male and female versions of Amy Cooper. There were Amy Coopers in my school and universities. I led teams with Amy Coopers, was managed by Amy Coopers, even had friendships and romantic relationships with versions of Amy Coopers.
In that moment it dawned on me that for all those years when I thought the problem was with me, it wasn't. Yet my silence through fear and discomfort meant I was complicit. Yes, it is possible to be impacted by racism and at the same time be an agent of its existence.
What did I have to be afraid of?
That by speaking out I would be ostracised and rejected.
That I would become that Black woman who always talks about racism.
That I would become that Black person who makes people feel uncomfortable in sharing my experiences of discrimination and how it's affected me.
That the model image of the Black professional I had spent almost twenty years cultivating would crumble away, and the person I really was and who I really wanted to be would be ‘too Black’ to be accepted by the majority.
And where would that leave me? Too often it's assumed that racism is cut and dried. Black and white. But it isn't. It's uncomfortable, messy and complex.
No one helped me untangle the guilt, shame and embarrassment I felt at having never said anything (or at least very little) when I was in the corporate world, at not actively being part of dismantling racism, at not doing more to support, champion and advocate for other Black people. Systemic racism is a system that divides, even within those of us who share the same ethnicity. Head down and get on with it. I don't have the time, energy or space to take on other people's struggles because I'm out here trying to fight the same battles.
I have my own problems to do deal with.
I'm still picking cotton.
Guilt manifests itself in different ways. For some of us, it's meant that we've made deliberate decisions to be part of the solution. To channel our influence, privilege and power to make a real difference in a way that addresses the root causes of racism and inequity that doesn't rely on prioritising white comfort.
Is this a bit too much for a business book? Well, it depends. We are all human and flawed individuals at that. I am no different.
To process the words written on the preceding pages is to do so with more understanding about how I've had to do the introspection that I'm also asking you to do. We all have work to do; it's just different. And it's so necessary to do this, if we are ever to stand a chance of freeing ourselves from the hundreds of years of insidious conditioning by systemic racism. Make no mistake – it harms white people too, but the impact is acutely felt by Black and other global majority people.
Anti‐racism and advancing racial equity are not about revenge. Neither is it about domination, exploitation or being anti‐white.
It's not about anti‐whiteness, anti‐white supremacy, anti‐exclusion.
It's about pro fairness, pro equity. It's about redistributing power rather than hoarding it.
What is so divisive about that?
Beyond the Lived Experience
I have almost two decades of HR experience, working for a range of national and international companies, covering everything from risk management to books, fashion to food, telecoms to coffee. But it wasn't my HR experience on its own that got me here, and it certainly didn't happen overnight.
I began recording a video a day for one hundred consecutive days, talking about my experiences but also offering words of advice, encouragement and challenge to decision makers. I did not expect my soft‐focus pixelated videos to gather momentum, but they did. Soon after, I was featured in Forbes, became one of LinkedIn's Top Voices for 2020 and won HR Most Influential Thinker 2021, awarded by a top UK HR publication. Considering that I speak about racism pretty much every day, these are a few of the ‘trophies’ I'm happy to display with pride. Along with that came the comments. The emails. The voice notes. Phone calls, tweets, DMs.
From CEOs, founders, investors, diversity and inclusion leads, chief people officers and colleagues who realised their organizations had a problem, or in some cases problems, plural. CEOs realised their companies were ‘too white’ and ‘too homogeneous’. The ‘About Us’ page on their websites suddenly became a focal point of conversation.
Diversity and inclusion leads quietly admitted that even under the banner of equity, their initiatives failed to specifically tackle race – not in depth and certainly not in a way that gave them any confidence their workplace cultures were genuinely welcoming of all colleagues.
Chief people officers didn't know how to lead the change and were either pressured to do something, fast(!), or encouraged to do nothing and ‘wait for the storm to pass’.
Investors responded to consumer pressure and public opinion and turned their focus to all white boards, citing governance risks due to a lack of diversity and social risks due to a failure to address social justice issues that have a material impact on people and communities.
Colleagues became vocal activists, collectively coming together across different ethnicities not only to demand change, but to hold leadership teams accountable for ‘walking the talk’ and addressing racial discrimination and harassment that was the unchallenged elephant in the room.
A moment in time on 25 May 2020 had changed everything.
This book is an opportunity. No matter how much I may make you wince with my uncompromising honesty in what needs to change and how, it is an opportunity for you to stay with me. But it is also a chance for you to be a role model of moral courage, because in order to go back to your company and ask your colleagues to scrutinise their relationship with racism, you have to be willing to do the same. And I would not ask you to do this, unless I too was doing the work.
Whilst at this stage you might feel tempted to close the book and pick it up again another day when you're more ‘in the mood’, all I require of you is to stay curious – curious enough to want to know more, to think creatively, to question workplace behaviours, systems and practices that until this point probably seemed normal, perhaps even natural.
Back to the point about writing a book that gives you all the answers: This isn't one of those.
Instead, I offer you a framework, based on thousands of conversations, of the transformative work I have spearheaded as part of leading my advisory firm, HR rewired. The information in this book utilises the experience I have in the challenges and immense opportunities open to us all when we embrace a growth mindset and remain open to new information, new experiences and new perspectives. Where appropriate, I'll share resources with you, places you can go for further insight, yet mostly I'm asking you to do the majority of the work.
Whilst there is only so much one book can cover, you can visit Shereen-daniels.com for further resources and guidance that align with the key themes we are about to explore.
I am a firm believer in co‐creation. Rather than tell you what to do, I will provide a foundation for you to explore and ask better questions, because only you can decide what being an anti‐racist organization looks and feels like.
Thus the way you apply the principles and perspectives outlined in this book will be based on several concepts:
How you define what your version of great looks like
How honest you are willing to be with yourself and your teams about the journey ahead
How committed you are to move beyond the temptation to focus on ‘low‐hanging fruit’ and instead prioritise and invest in programmes that make a difference for those most impacted
How willing you are to confront systemic racism and discrimination within your organization and your wider ecosystem
How comfortable you are to prioritise colleagues, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders who don't look like you.
Throughout each of the chapters you will also come across quotes, from an array of directors, leaders, DEI and HR leads who also struggled at times with their ignorance, discomfort and, in some cases, resentment about why this issue was now on their agenda. Perhaps their positioning is similar to yours, or to that of your colleagues or peers, and if so, that is something to reflect on.
Who Is This Book For?
A safe answer would be to say ‘everyone’. Everyone who cares, who wants to make a difference and be part of the solution. But as you'll come to realise, I'm direct and I like specifics. Because it means there is no room for misunderstanding, and we don't waste time and energy on things that make very little substantive difference to the issue at hand.
You have organizations to run. People to lead. Customers to engage and delight. Shareholders to keep happy. Communities to serve. And amongst all of that, a life to lead with people you hold dear. Time is precious. We don't have a lot of it and what we do have has to be used effectively.
The Anti‐Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace is a book for leaders. Particularly white leaders, who occupy the majority of executive positions in corporations on both sides of the Atlantic. Those of you who:
Suddenly found yourselves having to speak with confidence and clarity about an issue that you may have avoided talking about, both personally and professionally
Want to exercise your power, privilege and influence to exact change for groups of colleagues, who to varying degrees have been consistently silenced, marginalised and excluded from opportunities because of their ethnicity
Care about social justice and want to ensure that actions and interventions make a difference in a way that goes beyond ticking boxes
Want to align anti‐racism to your core values and business objectives in a way that is meaningful and not performative or tokenistic
Have the ability to put your head above the parapet, to ask tough questions of yourself and others, and be prepared to listen, really listen, and have your views, beliefs and perspectives of the world challenged
Are willing to work hard to resist feeling superior, of being the saviour, of taking action geared towards what looks good rather than what makes a difference and when times get tough, doesn't resort to “can't do right for doing wrong” thinking.
An End to Business Cases?
The business case for dismantling systemic racism is not one of economics. Many people have suggested I talk more about the financial benefits that come with addressing this, yet I don't need to, partly because there are plenty of studies and articles totaling how much exclusion costs our economies, but more importantly because I'm not about to build a business case to address inequality or basic human rights.
Instead, this book is an opportunity for those who want to hear from someone who has publicly and privately committed, day in and day out, to doing the work to unlock thousands of global conversations about race. Who has been doing the work with brands and organizations all over the world who decided they could no longer do nothing. Partnering with leaders who wanted to build deeper partnerships with their colleagues, customers and communities who wanted to evolve their cultures to become more anti‐racist, equitable and kind and who every day practice pushing past their discomfort and defensiveness about racism to understand the interconnectedness of all of our experiences, recognising it's impossible to separate what happens in society from what plays out within the four walls of their companies. And that the root causes of what negatively impacts one community damages us all.
This book is about recognising the cost of silence, of looking the other way, of doing little to nothing about an issue that was raised to the forefront of society (again) by the murder of George Floyd on 25 May 2020, which we all saw on our television screens and mobile phones.
This book is about acknowledging that your colleagues are human beings first, and that prioritising the needs of Black people – whether they are friends, family members, peers, colleagues, customers, suppliers, partners or community members – is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of.
This book is about understanding what it takes to be an anti‐racist organization and genuinely dismantle systemic racism within your workplace.
The work is done when we no longer need to use the word ‘anti‐racist’.
1Entering the Global Race for Racial Equality
The company was not as far ahead as we should have been.
I wasn't as far ahead as I should be.
I felt exposed as a leader, and as an organization because we didn't have our shit together, and the issues of systemic racism affect our colleagues. Therefore it affected me. And I felt it should affect us all.
Client, 2020
Can you remember a time in your career where you thought there would be so many conversations happening about race? And did you ever, for a second, foresee that you would have to spearhead some of these conversations and lead those actions?
Times have truly changed, yet not everyone has bought into the evolved expectation of what it takes to be a responsible and sustainable company.
When the murder of George Floyd occurred, the resulting global protests were on a scale we'd never seen before. George Floyd wasn't the first and we have a way to go before we can confidently say he is the last, but in that moment of time, everything in society changed, and organizations were not exempt.
What are we doing to address this? Are we doing enough? I don't even know where to begin with this.
Chief Executive Officer, 2020
‘Stakeholder capitalism' has increasingly become a common way to describe the expectation that companies provide long‐term value creation. Going beyond a binary focus on shareholder returns, it's now encompassing customers, suppliers, colleagues, investors, communities and others who have a stake in the business, generating value for all stakeholders, not just for shareholders.
Figure 1.1 Stakeholder capitalism spectrum.
Source: © HR rewired
Where does your organization sit?
It is not as simple as the assumption that you are either for or against stakeholder capitalism, that you are either a capitalist or an anti‐capitalist. It's more nuanced than that. Instead, think of it as a spectrum. At one end of the scale, customers, employees and communities are merely tools to maximise profits for the benefit of shareholders. At the opposite end, companies exist for the benefit of the public good: purpose beyond profit, and ensuring the needs of as many stakeholders as possible are met.
You have a choice in deciding where you fit on that spectrum and much of that will be driven by your values, your mission and how you want to be perceived in your industry and by the world at large.
Stakeholder capitalism is not a new term – in fact, it goes back to the Great Depression – but it has a new relevance. Dozens of the world's largest companies, representing trillions of pounds in market capitalization, have pledged to use a uniform set of “Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics” as part of the mainstream disclosures. This was announced 26 January 2021 by the World Economic Forum and its International Business Council when leaders from governments and corporates convened for a virtual version of the annual Davos conference. These commitments were seen as an opportunity to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; also known as Global Goals), adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people would enjoy peace and prosperity.
Regardless of whether you are a fan or a critic of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and to what extent you believe they are a legitimate tool to drive more sustainable and responsible business practices, it isn't possible to operate in today's and tomorrow's environment without an awareness of how your company operates against these standards.
The leadership teams with an edge on adjusting their approach to delivering against new expectations in tackling racism are those who are using this movement to redefine their values and purpose to ensure there is an alignment between their words and actions. On the flip side, stakeholders are continually looking for indicators that reinforce commitments.
Stakeholder capitalism isn't without its critics, of course. It's easy to claim you are a people‐centered company and give the illusion of caring about your stakeholders, even if your day‐to‐day culture and practices tell a different story.
The reality is that in the minds of some leaders, maximising profit means avoiding anything controversial that may damage public perception, which in turn hits the bottom line.
What is controversial?
Racism.
Whether we care to admit it – irrespective of how much quantitative and qualitative data exists to show that modern society still has an issue with racism, that everyday human rights are being violated and often recorded on mobile phones and talked about in real time on social media – for some, genuinely addressing the issue is too risky.
Silence on issues relating to racism was the smart and safe play. Until silence itself become controversial.
We saw a plethora of companies change their social media feeds to black, and incorporate the latest trending Black Lives Matter hashtag to ensure they were seen to be acting in solidarity with the Black community. Whilst the world was distracted, there wasn't an initial focus on the substance of these commitments. The hype was real, and well‐known brands swiftly committed to doubling or tripling the number of Black hires in senior positions (conveniently using percentage language, which doesn't sound nearly as great when you realise that doubling the percentage of Black managers by 50% actually means hiring one more Black person if there's only currently one Black person on the board), and propelled ever‐increasing budgets to social justice funds like auctioneers at Homes Under the Hammer. Anecdotal stories abound of companies committing millions in social justice funding, only to have it revealed that a year later barely a penny had been spent. It quickly became apparent that a lot of organizations opted for style over substance.
This sudden pressure to act caught many unawares. In their bid to do something, many took knee‐jerk and fragmented actions, sometimes simply rehashing old approaches to diversity and inclusion and relabelling them as anti‐racism.
Because who were you if you weren't anti‐racist?
Racial equity as a term came later. When there was a concern the word racism was too divisive.
However, the general public and colleagues wised up and began to scrutinise who was doing what and what was their quantifying impact.
Statements, hashtags, clever social media posts were no longer cutting it. Companies had to do something, so where did the majority start?
We are revamping our policies and reaching out to our Black colleagues. They are in so much pain and it breaks my heart.
HR manager, 2020
Developing Awareness
The most typical response to addressing racism is found in the belief that policies, procedures and HR technology (bizarrely) are the holy grail of where racism lives and dies. It's the default action when it becomes apparent that there is an issue with how certain groups are treated, and it becomes the go‐to item on the job description for new diversity, equity and inclusion hires.
Not enough Black candidates? Buy a tech solution that promises to eliminate bias. Lack of representation at board level? Brief the executive search company to ‘get more, and fast’. Complaints about racial discrimination and harassment? Update your policy and emphasise that you take a zero‐tolerance approach to racism. Even better, run a survey and ask colleagues how many times they’ve witnessed racism.
That is absolutely part of what you may need to look at it, but it isn't the whole picture. These approaches lack context, depth and nuance, and offer little to no evaluation of root causes.
There is likely a recognition that your processes, policies, systems – the informal and formal ways of doing things – may not be as inclusive as they should be. But there may also be a recognition that your company perpetuates racism. Not because you hire bad people or because you've deliberately set out to oppress certain groups. But if you don't confront the roots of what excludes people due to their ethnicity, if you fail to challenge your own preconceptions of what racism is and what it isn't, and if you use your discomfort as a convenient barrier to block change, this is exactly how we've gotten here today. In what's meant to be the most technologically advanced period known to humankind, our apathy, discomfort and fear allow the system called racism – because that's what it is, a system – to continue doing its best work. It is a system that perpetuates consistent favourable outcomes for some and consistent unfavourable outcomes for others, a system that isn't confined just to the US, despite what we believe in the UK; neither is it a nonissue in predominantly Black or Brown countries.
Ignorance is bliss when racism doesn't impact you. But in a post‐2020 world, ignorance isn't so blissful when you are expected to disclose why you have taken little to no meaningful action to diversify your business, and to take the necessary steps to root out discrimination and inequity and address the issues in a sustainable way.
