The day on which the U.K. acquires its first British Asian Prime Minister looks an odd one to highlight research showing that racism in the workplace continues to be a serious issue. And yet for all the progress made by Rishi Sunak and other politicians, much still needs to be done.
The headline figure in the report by business psychology consultancy Pearn Kandola is that nearly two-thirds of Black employees experienced racism in the workplace last year. But perhaps more significant is the finding that — despite all the protests and other initiatives in response to the death in the U.S. of George Floyd in 2020 — employees are little more comfortable talking about racism than they were in 2018, when Pearn Kandola carried out a similar survey.
In the words of Binna Kandola, the business psychologist who is a co-founder of Pearn Kandola, “We are still as wary, if not apprehensive, about conversations around race as we ever were. If we are to make progress on race, it will be achieved by discussion. It’s time for us all to take a good, hard look at how we perceive racism at work, as well as inclusion as a whole, to ensure we are able to talk to one another in an environment of mutual respect.”
Interviewed ahead of today’s publication of the report Racism at Work in the U.K. (2021), Kandola noted that attitudes to race had shifted so that "more people from the majority recognize there’s racism.” He said that the people most likely to challenge racist assumptions in the workplace were white and added that, rather than being the problem, white people were the solution.
Stressing the need for more discussion of the issue, he pointed out that, such were the sensitivities involved, with some people reluctant to become involved for fear of “getting it wrong,” organizations taking the approach of having a conversation about the issues should first “have a conversation about the conversation.” This would increase the chances of ensuring that everybody understood the ground rules and correct approach. He quotes the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt in urging people to “speak as if you’re right; listen as if you’re wrong.”
Of the 49% of employees who said their organization was actively promoting racial equality, education was the most frequently cited action. This covered workshops, seminars and talks and learning, training and development courses. Championing equality in the workplace, culture and communication and changing internal policies and practices were also cited as actions being rolled out in workplaces to promote racial equality.
Kandola added: “Education is a good place to start, but for organizations to create truly inclusive workplaces, we need to listen to the experiences of employees and implement actionable solutions.” This could involve recognizing different experiences between racial groups, as well as differences within racial groups, skill development in creating environments of psychological safety, and having a clear policy on dignity and respect at work.
Responding to a finding that many white people were reluctant to respond to racism in the workplace, with nearly a third taking the view that it wasn’t their business, he said: “Ultimately, challenging racism is everyone’s business.”
Just as with other management practices, there has to be joined-up thinking. Kandola fears that too many organizations respond to what’s in the news or whatever issue is gaining the attention of certain employees at a particular time and so lurch from one thing to another rather than having a properly thought-out and coherent strategy for making their workplaces more inclusive for everybody.
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