While most of us don’t follow racial prejudices in our daily lives, racism is still deeply ingrained in our society. As a result of the years of damage inflicted on society, racism is present in our workplaces too. While organizations have come up with ways to manage surface level instances of racism, they’re still discussing solutions to uproot and minimize systematic instances of racism from the workplace.
To this end, there are a number of practical steps that can be followed to build a diverse workforce without any signs of racism. Stick with us as we discuss tips and techniques on how to manage racism at the workplace in this article.
Recognize You Can Do Better
Start with the mentality that you can do better than you’re currently doing for inclusivity, and stick with it. Most people are in favor of supporting racial equity, but they fall short of options when it comes to implementing these thoughts in all practicality. While the pace of change has increased over time, we are still a significant distance away from implementing a clean environment in the workplace, free of all forms of racism.
Promote Diverse Leadership
True diversity and inclusivity can only be achieved in the workplace if you have diversity in leadership. Black Americans account for a meager 3 percent of all senior leadership roles in large corporations and organizations today and also for less than 1 percent of all Fortune 500 positions. The fate for Latinos isn’t much different, as less than 2 percent were part of the Fortune 500 CEO listing. Most of these individuals were men, so there is even meager representation for women from diverse backgrounds.
Organizations can truly signal change by being more inclusive with their leadership. People of color and all genders should be given equal opportunity to be part of leadership teams and should be given the same opportunities as everyone else.
Continue the Dialogue
Most organizations picked up on inclusivity measures and even amped the diversity in their workplace during recent protests relating to the All Black Lives Matter movement. However, organizations need to realize that inclusivity is not a sudden change which isn’t monitored or improved over time, but it is a continued process that should be made the norm.
Just because attention around protests and inequalities dies down, doesn’t mean that racism is resolved, and you can take your eyes away from the elephant in the room. The dialogue should be continued across the leadership and on an organizational level, with continuous improvements.
We at JS Benefits Group have worked with numerous clients to manage racism in the workplace and build an inclusive workforce. You can get in touch with JS Benefits Group immediately to discuss and devise a plan.
