Organisations made bold statements about tackling racism following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement, but there is still some way to go until true equity is achieved. Stella Nogzi Mbubaegbu explains why HR professionals need to become anti-racist ‘activists’.
We have a long way to go in our journey to eradicate racism, and HR leaders must play a central role. George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and the outcry that followed gave the anti-racism movement momentum, with positive responses from organisations and individuals worldwide. But, still, too little progress has been made in addressing racism in society and the workplace.
HR professionals have got so much power and influence, and more of them need to stand up as key agents of the deep change required to move us towards an anti-racist society. After all, they are by the very nature of their role primarily concerned about the people and culture of the organisations they work in.
HR becoming ‘anti-racist’
Why Ngozi Fulani’s experience at the Palace has workplace impact
Reports about systemic and institutional racism in organisations and even entire sectors are becoming more common. We hear of hostile work environments contributing to the trauma experienced by so many people of colour. One wonders whether our HR leaders have contributed to these failures; whether they are silent or not being heard? Are they operating at a sufficiently strategic level? Are they influencing senior leaders and their board?
HR as activists
HR leaders need to be activists. They can advocate for cultural change that goes beyond policies and procedures and the transactional aspects of HR. For this, they need to be bold and courageous.
If it exists in their organisation, they must break down structural racism. Decades of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies have brought us no closer to anti-racist workplaces. We need activism.
To do this, HR leaders must:
- Be ready for awkward conversations. It’s never easy to challenge a leadership team on its record of addressing racism. We must be bold.
- Be specific, bringing data to the table. What are the ratios in your organisation, in terms of recruitment, promotions and disciplinary processes, for example? Can you break down the metrics on your dashboard by ethnicity?
- Seek out the lived experiences of your people. What is it like and how does it feel to be a minority employee in your organisation? Make sure you have candid, confidential conversations in a safe place. In organisations, there is often insufficient fact-finding about and voice given to lived experiences because there is a culture of fear. People understandably worry for their prospects if they speak out. Where possible, people with lived experience, internal or external to the organisation, should be sought out to lead these conversations.
- Consider the language you use in your internal communications. As someone once said, to illuminate racism you need to ‘name it, frame it and explain it’. For example, use equity rather than equality. Equality, like equity, is about promoting fairness and justice, but this only works if you need the same things and are starting from the same place. Equity is about creating an environment that nurtures and enables all to lead fulfilling lives. And what about inclusion? What does this really mean? For me, inclusion or inclusivity is about someone else giving me permission to be part of something. The truth is that we are a diverse country to which people from various ethnicities belong. It’s now about belonging more than inclusion.
From non-racist to anti-racist
We have been too passive. We need sustainable action, moving from that indeterminate state of being ‘non-racist’ to be ‘anti-racist’.”
Ethically, racism is wrong and has no place in society. But beyond the moral case, the social and economic arguments are clear and well researched: we need to make the most of having ethnically diverse organisations and communities organisations to be a successful nation. We must harness the potential of every single person.
Sweeping statements, such as “we’re a not a racist country” are not helpful in the face of the evidence. On the other hand, Wales declaring an aim to be an anti-racist nation and taking real action to realise this ambition, is ground-breaking.
HR leaders need to be anti-racist activists not only in their own organisations but also in their professional community. I strongly believe they are well-positioned to influence sectoral and organisational cultures, values, and behaviours, working individually and collectively. Maybe this means we need a repositioning of the HR profession, to be more active and central to eradicating racism.
