Today’s businesses are a long way away from what they once were. Organizations range over countries and continents in where they source their input from, where they carry out their activities in, and where they choose to provide their goods and services at. Modern technology is making the world a smaller place to live in, making it possible for companies to operate on a scale never seen before. The need for racial diversity to reflect this state of affairs however, is a conversation that is still distressingly slow to get off the ground. And even if diversity was to be achieved, what of equal treatment?
From a business perspective, diversity in an organization refers to the representation of many different social markers within the community it operates. When it comes to global organizations of course, this becomes infinitely broader in its scope. Diversity creates space for various perspectives, drives innovation and increases the talent pool that a business has at its disposal. There are many studies available on how improved diversity in the organization drives profits and improves financial performance. In the US for example, companies that have actively strived to achieve their diversity goals were found to have 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee. Companies with 30% or more non-white board seats achieved higher year-on-year revenue in comparison to companies with less than 20% non-white directors. Programs for racial diversity and equality however should be motivated from a social justice perspective, rather than an attempt to ‘cash in’ on its benefits.
Insincere inclusivity efforts that led to reputational damage
Global companies have more eyes on them than most, which tears holes in insincere efforts to mark diversity checkboxes without making a sustained effort to create equality within the organization. The recent Wells Fargo scandal for example shows how a facade of racial diversity and inclusivity are quickly seen through, to reveal deeper institutional issues of racism and discrimination. For those unaware, the bank was exposed for conducting ‘fake’ interviews for ‘diversity applicants’ to satisfy company policy. The one executive who questioned the practice was quickly fired. This was not the only story of racial discrimination to come out of the bank either. The institution was also found to discriminate against black applicants for mortgages, meaning that the organization was also found to be discriminatory towards its clients.These incidents have made clear where Wells Fargo’s conscience lay to anyone who may consider obtaining their services.
Netflix is one other global business that was exposed for their superficial commitment towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The company was among the first to comment and commit a major donation (amounting to 100 million dollars of the five following years) to organizations that help underrepresented communities find jobs in TV and film. As the company recorded losses and stock values declined early next year however, a large number of employers and contractors were promptly let go of, a significant number of whom were black or members of other underrepresented minorities. Several of those who made anonymous comments to the media revealed that they believed themselves to be ‘diversity hires’ and were considered expendable to the organization.
How to achieve racial diversity and equality in your organization
All too often, attempts to promote racial diversity and equality in the workplace tend to get hyper focused on making cultural changes amongst employees. However, as can be seen, organizational changes that do not address structural issues are rendered meaningless. This is because racial inequalities have already been legitimized within these companies.
Leadership buy-in to achieve diversity goals
As also made clear by the incidents described above, management buy-in is crucial to achieve true equality among different races within an organization. In an instance where decision-making power is concentrated among a predominantly white management, leadership buy-in is vital to ensure that other races are even part of the conversation at all. Personal conversations with the leadership may well be necessary to ensure their cooperation. Providing leadership with a platform to voice their own experiences with racial discrimination will invite their investment to the cause. Once leadership is sufficiently motivated in actively promoting racial diversity and equal treatment, they can be provided with opportunities to promote these values across the board.
Creating and implementing equality policies
Despite how far along your organization may be in the process to advocate for and promote racial diversity and equality in the workplace, it is always possible that there are some regressions in the journey. It is essential that policy support is put in place within the organization and across the organization’s reach in the global arena to ensure that any such regressions are met with repercussions to those responsible. Comprehensive anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies will also help ensure that established cultures of oppression and aggression are delegitimized within your company. Victims of such aggressions can also turn to the security of such policies to seek out justice. It will also help establish the standard for newcomers to the organization.
Revisit the hiring process
It is an unfortunate dimension of racial oppression that the racially privileged are often unconscious to the privilege they enjoy. This often makes the wrongful assumption that a racially unbiased approach during the interview process would be sufficient to create a diverse roster. The truth is that more comprehensive changes are often required to ensure that racially diverse candidates even make it into the interviewing process. There are many best practices that can be bought into the hiring process to ensure a more racially diverse workforce.
For one, job descriptions need to be free of racial bias that may be present. Language that discriminates against different ethnicities and races in job descriptions are so normalized nowadays as to be almost invisible. One such example is the requirement that applicants are ‘native speakers of English’ or are ‘applicants are local to the area’. Thorough revisions are necessary to ensure that these are eliminated before being made public. Blind screening of prospective applications, ensuring diverse participants in interview panels, subscribing to networking platforms that actively promote diversity instead of those that don’t, will all ensure that the hiring process is divested of racial bias as much as possible.
Internal equality
The hiring process alone will not organically create equality for those who do end up working for your organization. It is important to ensure that the organization provides equal opportunities for career growth. Employee salaries and internal promotions should reflect their skills and their contributions to the organization. Careful monitoring is necessary to make sure that pay or hierarchical inequalities do not persist or are not created anew.
Achieving diversity and equality within the organization can be a complex and challenging task, not least because of the difficult conversations it necessitates between and among existing power structures. This is especially true when the organization is spread over the globe. However, the end goal of diversity programs is always the inclusion and valuation of everyone within the organization, not just those who may belong to underrepresented communities. Such inclusion will ensure that everyone feels all the more empowered within their positions for having achieved them through their own capabilities.
(Theruni Liyanage)