- Leaders need to focus on the concept of healing, to create a more empathetic and just world.
- Companies should track metrics to illustrate the positive impacts of inclusion on the emotional climate and business goals of the company.
- We need to share our actual pasts more as opposed to
abstract ideas.
In the wake of the racial injustice movements active in so many countries today, leaders are searching for accessible ways to create change in their respective fields and communities. Whilst it is now undeniable that world leaders must make change happen, ideas on how to do so remain vague.
Where businesses get stuck.
Some businesses have come under fire for engaging with social injustice on merely a surface level; a subset of these have been perceived as sloganeering, and of addressing concerns that have not in fact been raised by marginalized groups, just to create an illusion of change-making. Real change can be defined as that which impacts the lives of marginalized groups in a
meaningful way.
In the workplace, there are fears that laying the diversity and inclusion cause on too thickly will cause divisiveness and discomfort; and yet — at the other extreme — if a corporation does not address the need for diversity and inclusion, it risks being pulled up publicly for not taking these matters seriously.
This failure to get the balance right often happens because companies do not take the time to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace in ways that are going to have a lasting impact. Leaders must lean into discomfort around issues of equality in order to commit to what is right; when a company makes it clear what its leadership believes in, employees are likely to eventually follow suit.
World leaders must entertain the concept of healing
Growing up during the South African apartheid, I had to learn to address my upbringing and the institutional barriers to success that came with it. The most important tactic I learnt, in order to be able to move forward, was healing. And healing is just what world leaders need to focus on if they intend to create a more empathetic and just world.
Healing creates the space marginalized people need to feel heard, and creates an environment filled with empathy. It’s a far cry from the creation of conflicting attitudes to which we are accustomed and which is the result of allowing certain groups to ignore the cause of many peoples’ pain. And this is the key to improving diversity in the workplace in a truly meaningful way.
An inclusion-oriented mindset
Practically speaking, diversity and inclusion training needs to shift from a one-off lesson to building a company-wide mindset that includes ongoing introspection. Training should encompass focussing on subconscious bias, or how we define our identity and how we process our past, instead of solely honing in on interpersonal intervention
methods — the practice of sharing thoughts, ideas and feelings between two or more people to address health issues.
While it is extremely important to encourage employees to speak out about any perceived injustices, they will be unable to identify them in the first place without an inclusion-oriented mindset. Changing behaviors and mindsets is a gradual process, and so Diversity and Inclusion programming is needed all year round to remind people of historical biases and nudge us in the right direction.
The need for a reporting-system overhaul
Company leaders must also address their reporting systems to protect vulnerable populations, making them as accessible and unthreatening as possible. How about they incorporate a hotline — ideally run by a third party to avoid fears of victimization from reporting incidents. The details of such a system would need to be boldly displayed across the organization, such as on the company’s internal website, so that people see the option as accessible.
When staff see the system is improving the lives of employees who utilise it, they will trust it and begin to destigmatise the system. A grievance system that minimizes the threat of retaliation, conducts effective investigations swiftly, and holds parties accountable for racially motivated harassment will send a message to teams that the company does not stand for racist behavior and that it prioritises the needs of marginalized people.
Special internal events honoring days that have historical significance in communities of color can be effective too. For instance, declaring Junteenth a company-wide holiday or hosting a special event in honor of Martin Luther King Day could be ways to show that the company is seeking to uplift communities of color.
A few final pointers
Diversity and Inclusion initiatives should be linked to KPIs and revenue. For instance, Crayola created a new range of skin-coloured crayons to address a shortcoming in their company, thereby integrating diversity into their product development.
Leadership must also stress the value of Diversity and Inclusion from the top down, with diversity managers situated in company leadership as high up as the executive leadership boards.
There must also be buy-in from CEOs, shown through continuous messaging embedded in internal communications, and behavior illustrating a commitment to removing racial and gender gaps. Lessons will not sink in for teams without executive boards constantly proving how important Diversity and Inclusion is to the company.
When diversity managers and teams are able to make structural changes to have a positive impact externally and internally, teams will be happier and start showing improved operating performance, more innovation, and more adherence to governance.
People who do not belong to the same cliques also will be able to hold each other accountable, lending toward a more inclusive, and therefore cohesive, environment. Other teams will see this positive shift and want to replicate it, too. Such metrics can — and should be — tracked by company leadership to illustrate the positive impacts of inclusion on the emotional climate of the company as well as its business goals.
About the author
Jesmane Boggenpoel is the author of the book on racial reconciliation, diversity and inclusion My Blood Divides and Unites. She has a background in private equity, investments and entrepreneurship. She serves on the boards of several large companies. Jesmane was nominated a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2013. Jesmane is qualified as a Chartered Accountant (South Africa) and has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard.
