It’s been hugely heartening to see the broad based and empathetic reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement following, amongst other outrages, the appalling death of George Floyd. We might wonder about how far the toppling of statues, for example, will extend after the bronze of Edward Colston found itself at the bottom of Bristol harbour last month. However, the public condemnation of a fortune gained through such heinous enterprise feels unambiguously, unavoidably, right. And re-examining our history to better understand the origin of our wealth, privilege and place in the world is well overdue. However uncomfortable that might feel for us middle-aged, middle-class white men.
“Few of us are comfortable talking about race. For allies there can be a fear of saying the wrong thing. And for minorities, it can generate complex feelings of identity, belonging and difference. The only way to break through this is with dialogue from which comes mutual understanding and empathy”. Daley Pritchard, Talent Consultant, Aire.
“The truth needs to be told and different voices need to be heard”, Rhonda Calder, Diversity and Inclusion Client Partner, Bloomberg LP.
If this touches on the collective, what about a personal contribution to such momentum? It’s both easy (and wrong) for a middle-aged, middle-class white man to take a back seat and assume others will do the heavy moral lifting.
I can’t see myself pulling down statues in the near future, but a fascinating piece of research brought home how unconsciously prevalent racism is in our everyday actions and responses.
At the end of last month, a Danish data firm, RunRepeat published research in conjunction with the Professional Footballers’ Association. They studied commentary from 80 games across the four top leagues in Europe over the course of the current, if truncated, season.
How commentators described the abilities of the individuals within those games was telling. Those players with white/light skin were more widely praised for their intelligence (62.60%), hard work (60.40%) and quality (62.79%). In the case of Black players, commentators were 6.59 times more likely to reference their power and 3.38 times more likely to remark on their pace. 63% of any criticism regarding an individual player’s intelligence, or absence thereof, was directed too at Black players.
To my shame, I have been sadly unaware of such racism unfolding in front of us and our TV screens – something definitely not the case for those more directly effected. It feels endemic, it influences the way we consider and perceive players and their racialised identities. We then attribute one race with intelligence, knowledge and hard work. To another, simple innate physicality.
“The existence and prevalence of such racism will come as no surprise to those more obviously impacted. If it exists in the background for some audiences, it is often very much in the foreground for minority viewers and listeners”. Daley Pritchard.
It is going on around us, largely, hitherto, without comment or knowledge.
Therefore, in the words of Angela Davis, “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”
There is arguably more responsibility upon those born with a range of privileges, including ethnicity, to make an active contribution and be seen to be making a contribution. And not assume this should be the responsibility of others. We need to put allyship into action.
And the sheer sense of positive momentum feels impossible – and ill advised – to ignore. It is equally as prevalent in the workplace as the sporting arena. A major survey from McKinsey’s, for example, from the end of June, analyses the strength of feelings around inclusion and diversity. In particular, the percentage of candidates who decide against pursuing or accepting a position with an organisation because they believe the workforce there was not inclusive is 39% for all audiences and 45% for BAME respondents.
Sadly, from the same research, 35% of the survey suggested that their current employer was doing too little to create a diverse environment.
The problem is there, but what can those of us from the talent intelligence and Employee Value Proposition (EVP) field, myself absolutely included, do and do more of?
And why does this feel particularly important?
The EVP is the route into an organisation. An employer’s ‘why’ and ‘where’ to candidate audiences. A reason to stay, grow and thrive for current employees. That EVP has to speak to all communities. It cannot exclude and divide, other than on the basis of competence, attitude and skillset.
So, constructing and landing an EVP should be viewed as a major inclusivity building block. But is it right now? If it is the door into an organisation, does it feel open to all audiences?
I’ve worked with any number of organisations in order to shape and articulate an EVP. In doing so, I’ve engaged with senior leaders and HR and TA professionals to better understand both the current employee experience and the strategic journey an employer is on. I’m fairly confident that not one of those conversations has involved an interview with the employer’s diversity and inclusion specialists. I’m going to insist on that moving forward.
“Leaders have to be active and intentional about making their workplaces truly inclusive so that people like myself really feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. There is a still very long way to go… sadly!” Oyinda Bishi, Head of Marketing EMEA at Crown Worldwide Group.
When such research to underpin an EVP reaches outside in order to better understand how an employer is perceived by external talent audiences, how much emphasis is placed on BAME communities? To what extent do they feel that an employer is inclusive, ready to welcome in great candidates, regardless of their background and origin? We need to be asking such questions and working with the answers, no matter how challenging they might potentially be.
If we use new joiners as a highly relevant audience through which to test the promise and reality of the EVP, to what extent do we currently take on board the perspective of, for example, Black audiences? If they have joined in the belief that a new employer is inclusive, has such belief survived the reality of the employee experience?
“Those organisations changing their EVP narrative to be more inclusive need to ensure such changes are real and heartfelt, not a tick-box exercise, rather one which reflects a workplace they are trying to build and in which everyone can truly thrive”. Oyinda Bishi
And what about the employee stories that frame and land your employer brand? Are such stories which populate your careers site and your recruitment marketing reflective of all audiences and their experiences?
If the EVP journey takes in testing – and I hope it does – what sort of reaction does your ‘why’ provoke amongst diverse, non-white audiences? Are you describing to them an employee experience which they recognise or one which you distantly and optimistically aspire to? And how does the experience of Black employees compare with that of, for example, Asian colleagues?
And as we make increasing use of quantitative insights, through pulse studies, are employers taking the opportunity to track progress around diversity and the employee experience of Black or Asian employee groups?
If such research takes in exit data – and it should increasingly do so – what picture is it painting about the employee experience for such employees? Is it inspiring and engaging or is it, indeed, the reason why such people are leaving?
How open and credible are your employee communications around diversity and inclusion? What is the reaction from Black audiences if they take a look at your senior leadership group? Do they feel inspired by or excluded from such a group?
Julie Griggs, Consultant at Greenhill HR and Talent, makes the point: “I think what’s key from an organisational or HR perspective is we don’t see D&I activity as something on our to-do list. It’s not a project that you bring a consultant in for 3-6 months and everything is fixed”.
Change is happening and people will be judged by their enthusiasm and willingness to contribute to such change.
It might be tech firms taking the decision to drop terms such as ‘blacklist’ for malicious websites or ‘whitelist’ for safe emails. Or losing/replacing terms such as ‘master’ and ‘slave’.
Or Netflix’s decision to donate 2% of its cash in hand – at least $100m to banks and financial institutions that directly support black communities in the US. This after it committed to allocating $5m to organisations providing opportunities to black creators, black youth and black-owned businesses.
It might touch on the most senior HR professional at Adidas who resigned last month after terming a major groundswell of unhappiness around the firm’s inclusivity efforts as ‘noise’.
Or again, it might be Sky Sports broadcasting, as international cricket started up again, a passionate and moving five-minute interview with commentator and ex-West Indies cricketer, Michael Holding, on the need for greater education around racism and inclusivity.
“The key here is education – we can’t just sit back and say ‘oh we don’t behave like that’. It’s the unconscious behaviours, which is why we have to actively try and understand how what we do effects people”. Julie Griggs.
Whatever your next step, know that it’s not enough to sit on the middle-aged, middle-class, white side-lines and applaud, we have to make a contribution. However uncomfortable it is, white privilege exists and needs to be used for the right reasons not the old reasons.
“It’s important, yet productive, to self-reflect on where each of us stands, acts and responds on the emotional, hugely sensitive issue that is racism. In the light of such reflection, how does our thinking, how do our actions stand up?” Rhonda Calder.
We need both to take the knee and extend the hand.
Getting to the heart of your employee mindset 