Racial Equality in the Workplace
Race discrimination, which has been illegal in the UK since 1976, occurs when someone is unfairly disadvantaged for reasons related to their race, which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins as stated in the Equality Act 2010. A racial group can be made up of one or more distinct racial groups, for example, Black, White, Chinese, Romanian, Black British, British Asian, Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers.
Racism is damaging to individuals, to teams, to companies and organisations, and ultimately to society.
Why is racial equality important in business?
Racial equality is when businesses and organisations provide equal opportunities and equitable treatment to individuals of all races.
Let’s look at some key facts about diversity from Business in the Community 2021.
Race equality in the UK will potentially bring a £24 billion per year boost to the UK economy – 1.3 per cent GDP – that is £481 million a week.
Organisations with more diverse teams have 36 per cent better financial returns.
Only one in 16 people at senior levels in the private and public sector are from an ethnic minority background.
Only 33 per cent of employees stated that they have a senior-level champion for diversity and inclusion in their workplaces.
People who are subjected to discrimination have to work significantly harder to fit in and progress. They are also more likely to leave the workplace or bring a grievance and are more likely to suffer poor mental health and physical health as a consequence of the effects of discrimination.
Being Anti-Racist
An anti-racist is someone who actively supports anti-racist policies through their actions or expresses anti-racist ideas, which includes the expression of ideas that racial groups are equals and supporting policies that reduce racial inequity. To be anti-racist, we must become actively engaged, which means educating ourselves in a respectful way and becoming comfortable with discomfort.
Principles of Anti-Racist Practice
There are a few key principles for anti-racist practices that should be followed in order to be successful in building a workplace culture that strives for racial equality.
Prioritise
Make anti-racism a clear priority in your organisation.
Understand
Speak and listen to the lived experiences of those who work in your organisation and those who access your services.
Develop
Read, learn and grow your understanding. Don’t expect the majority of the work to be carried out by those with lived experiences of racism.
Take Action
Take action that will affect change.
Review
Review the success of the actions carried out against targets set.
How to see change in the workplace?
There are many approaches a company can take to solidify their commitment to the improvement of providing equal opportunity in the workplace. Here are just a few steps you can take to really see a change.
Commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying
The Race at Work Survey revealed that 25 per cent of ethnic minority employees reported that they had witnessed or experienced racial harassment or bullying from managers. Commitment from the top is needed to achieve change.
Make it clear that supporting equality in the workplace is the responsibility of all leaders and managers
Actions can include ensuring that performance objectives for leaders and managers cover their responsibilities to support fairness for all staff.
Take action that supports ethnic minority progression
Some of these actions may include embedding mentoring, reverse mentoring and sponsorship in their organisations.
Appoint an Executive Sponsor for race
Executive Sponsors for race provide visible leadership on race and ethnicity in their organisation and can drive actions such as setting targets for ethnic minority representation, briefing recruitment agencies and supporting mentoring and sponsorship.
Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress
Capturing ethnicity data is important for establishing a baseline and measuring progress. It is a crucial step towards an organisation reporting on ethnicity pay differentials.
There is still much progress to be made in addressing racial inequality in the workplace, but more and more businesses are recognising the importance of having a racially diverse team of people in their companies. The first step in creating a diverse workplace culture is to make it a priority for your company, especially for those in senior positions who have the power to influence progress towards improving issues.