“And I saw that what divided me from the world was not anything intrinsic to us but the actual injury done by people intent on naming us, intent on believing that what they have named us matters more than anything we could ever actually do.”
Ta-Nahesi Coates.
Every day in the workplace, individuals face challenges to simply being themselves. As leaders and colleagues, we each have a role to play in creating inclusive workspaces. Diverse perspectives enrich our workplaces, and studies are showing that involving diverse voices improves performance, problem solving and decision-making. Yet, People of Color and women are underrepresented in C-Suite, upper management, and Board roles compared to their representation in the overall working population. The culture of an organization provides insight into the racial dynamics and racial equity/parity within the organization. Today we will focus on how you can create a race equity culture at work.
Today’s Challenge
Read
- Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture, from Equity in the Center, outlines ways that organizations can dismantle structural racism and inequities both inside and outside their organizations. (Agree to their license agreement to download the report). https://equityinthecenter.org/aww/
- Read the executive summary on pages 2-3
- Read the explanation of dominant culture in the context of building a race equity culture, found in the box on top of page 10.
Watch
- Take courage by knowing you are not alone, watch this 3-minute video shedding light on common struggles people face bringing their authentic selves to the workplace. Reflect on struggles your colleagues (family or friend group) may be facing in bringing their authentic selves into space with you. Explore ways you contribute to this phenomenon. (3:27) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g88Ju6nkcg
Listen
- Listen to this podcast featuring Harvard Business Review co-hosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn responding to some common challenges faced by businesses in promoting diversity and inclusion in their workplace (transcript included). Explore ways to help support your organizational leadership to promote diversity and inclusion. https://hbr.org/podcast/2018/11/race-issues
Discuss
- What are some ways you can help build a race equity culture in your company or organization, neighborhood, and greater community? What are some tools that can help you get started?
- What informal and formal power do you hold to shift culture? How can that power be used to change damaging norms and power dynamics within your institution?