Corporations and organizations are going out of their way to show support to anti-racism initiatives with social media posts, chief executive letters and contributions while asking WHAT CAN I DO TO STOP THIS? The answer lies within your Circle of Influence inside your workplace. The unrest and protests are a combination of a thousand cuts that kill the spirit of people –in all areas of society: schools, sports, workplaces and police & civilian murders and the criminal justice system for too many is the final death sentence.
To all chief executives your workplace is your opportunity to do something!! You can make your culture truly inclusive and abundant for ALL! Be objective, open to hear & self-reflective of your workplace culture and make changes that creates places at the table for new voices. It is the death of a thousand cuts that is killing the spirit of employees daily… …..the callous comments, dismissive attitude, unnecessary board/job/school qualification requirements, selfish mentality, manipulative, demeaning & disrespectful behavior, arbitrary decision making, fear based leadership, preferential treatment, lack of engagement, overlooking employees- the in & out crowd, preference for homogeneity– provide opportunities for those who are most different. Create a new culture. This is what you can and must do so your employees can breathe and your organizations can thrive.
Below, I share examples as a starting place to begin gaining insight into areas in your workplace culture you might inventory:
- Words Matter: 7th grade student, my son, received disciplinary notice, “he stole a cookie from cookie jar.” The callousness of language and the potential deep, long term implications in the educational system for a black male child. How about, same incident different words, ‘he took a cookie without asking.’
- Passed Over: Over and over not selected for the job/promotion. Barry Rand, at the time, one of the highest-ranking Xerox employees, passed over for the CEO position after 31 years of high-performance service.
- Always A Bridesmaid Never A Bride: Skilled and knowledgeable enough to train new incumbents yet never enough to be given the position.
- Do You Hear Us: In meetings, when women speak and share ideas too often there is no response. Suddenly, when HE says the same thing, it is the best, greatest idea!
- “Eye Test”: Draft Combine in men’s professional sports: measurement, testing and physical assessment of strength, virility and mental acuity despite having a thorough knowledge of every aspect of their game/skills. It is so reminiscent of the slave auction market.
- Marginalized Talent: In workplaces too often the most talented are marginalized. The show the Voice is an example. If the criteria is the person with the best voice will be the winner, why then is the selection seldom the best voice? This season is the latest example. Or, the dust up between Glee actresses which is a microcosm of the Hollywood culture. Actress Riley explained, “non-white actors typically play the “sidekick” to a white lead — a “culture” in the industry that fosters the lack of diversity. We were even told, we were expendable; the colored girls, the black girls are expendable. I’m talking about the culture.”
- Public Affirmations: Organization’s write mission statements, make donations, hire diversity leaders, form diversity, inclusion & equity committees, etc. expressing commitment to diversity yet it in their workplaces, it is mostly absent in their marketing, on their boards, and in the leadership seats!
- Living Wage and Benefits: America’s most recognized brands in every industry created the largest economic tsunami in history!! The result of a short-term focus. Years of over funding executives total compensation/benefits while underfunding an emergency, sustainability, reserve fund, for such a time as a pandemic as well as systematic, long term elimination of worker self-sufficiency through stagnate, low wages, elimination of health care, savings & retirement programs cause workers to be unable to be self- sufficient.
- Drew Brees’ Flag Statements: Hearing yet an inability to understand beyond one’s experience and beliefs.
- Culturally Insensitive, “Ignorant,” Disconnected Practices: In many communities, an early embedded survival teaching to children that remains in the psyche into adulthood: never bring a bag into a store and never leave a store without a receipt to minimize the potential of being suspected of stealing. It has now become the norm of many stores to not provide bags or receipts. Personal story, my male VP colleagues went to Walmart to pick up a few items. Unbeknownst to them, our white male Canadian colleague planned to exchange underwear! Suddenly, they noticed he went to the display and took out the package he purchased, on a previous visit, and put the new size in his bag. When they got outside the store, the black male colleagues could hardly wait to question our colleague and begin sharing the danger of his action. It had never occurred to him that his action could find him detained for stealing. They all had a nervous laugh and a new learning.
I am heartened by the genuine expression of love and desire to make a difference by so many in the business community!! I assure you, the actions you take in your workplace will make a huge contribution toward social justice transformation. As in AA, your first step will be the most important and difficult…acknowledging you have a problem and making a commitment to change.