COMMUNITY LET'S TALK
Let's talk representation
date: 11.10.2021
date: 11.10.2021
We've had a number of emails in and around the issue of underrepresentation of ethnic minorities especially as you go up the ranks of management in the compnay. Why is it so important? Below is a contribution we received that asks questions around this and we've included a number of resources that explore this subject in great detail.
“Representation matters because we all bring different perspectives to the table, and those perspectives are really informed by our experiences and our identities. So it could be geography or education or family structure or race or sexual orientation. We bring all of those perspectives to the table and those factors inform who we are as people. They also inform how we look at the world. So if those structures don’t incorporate our perspectives, then our perspectives don’t factor into decision making. And if we don’t exist, then policies are developed and they ignore us to our own detrimentment,”
- Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
Will Learns About The Issue Of Diversity In The Workplace In The UK.
The Blackprint: Will.i.am explores what it means to be Black and British, meeting civil rights heroes, inspirational schoolchildren and tech trailblazers, and looks at present-day struggles.
Questions from you
As part of Champion week, we're asking employees to let us know what change or progress they want Unity to champion within the business. Here we share one of the responses which links to representation. Do you feel the same? Take the poll and let us know.
Last week thismerchlife, an instragram account dedicated to providing a platform for retail merchandisers across the world, created a poll to ask whether employees think their management teams are ethnically diverse after a follower submitted a question related to representation. Here you can see the what was asked and the results of the poll.
Resources
"England's teaching workforce has a serious diversity problem. Some pupils have no Black teachers throughout their whole time in school. This is even more stark in STEM subjects, with a huge lack of Black teachers in science, maths and computing. Without representation and role models, young Black pupils are less likely to engage with these subjects - and further still, pursue careers related to them. That means less Black scientists, engineers and other professionals that contribute to our society's future.
This is why we've partnered with Seven-Time Formula One™ World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton's foundation Mission 44. Our shared goal is to recruit and train 150 Black STEM teachers over the next two years, to work in schools serving disadvantaged communities in England." - Teach First
In September 2020, Salesforce hosted their third-annual racial-equality summit, Representation Matters. The week-long virtual event sought to inspire, empower, and elevate our most underrepresented communities in tech and society while energizing conversations about how we can all drive racial equality in our industry, community, and world.
"We understand that while talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not. Watch below a message from our Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. We are here. We have always been here. Representation matters, everywhere."
You can read the full article here.
THE POWER OF REPRESENTATION IN LEADERSHIP ROLES
Every child and adult will dream bigger, take bolder leaps, and feel more seen and valued when they are not alone in their journey. For those that find solidarity in the many identities and experiences that Kamala Harris represents, this is a historic moment.
WHY REPRESENTATION MATTERS [...] - LESSONS FROM WAKANDA.
Role models can change the course of your life – but what if nobody at the top looks like you? In her first blog for Mental Health at Work, Sabrina Bramble explores the power of Black role models, how organisations need to start making a stand, and how one film brought her so much hope.
BLACK EMPLOYEES HOLD JUST 1.5% OF SENIOR ROLES, RESEARCH REVEALS.
A Business in the Community (BITC) report, Race at the Top: Revisited, found just 54,900 of the 3.9 million managers, directors & senior officials in the UK are black.
TED TALK: THE URGENCY OF INTERSECTIONALITY
Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.
CHALLENGING SYSTEMIC RACISM AT WORK
The global Black Lives Matter movement has shone a stark spotlight on the need for society and organisations to stop, reflect and acknowledge where they need to start making changes. While laws and changing social norms have helped to make overt and blatant racism unacceptable, a shake-up in working practice and systemic culture is required. And that will only happen if we all take ownership of the issue.