I’m hoping that it hasn’t escaped your attentions that October is Black History Month. 

Black History Month is held every October in Britain and commemorates the history, achievements and contributions of Black people in the UK. 

So in this blog I wanted to write to you Fans of Plans about the importance of this celebration and why we need to keep having conversations about BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) representation. BAME in itself can be a divisive term, as it tries to encapsulate a ‘cover-all’ for anyone other than white.  

I’m of the school of thought that thinks if I can’t engage with this conversation, then I am part of the problem. 

I am fully aware that I come from a privileged head start when it comes to the world of work – I was privately educated, I went to university… oh and I’m white. You might say that the only thing that holds me back a touch is that I am female – but we won’t open that floodgate today.

Did you know that according to the Chartered Institute of Professional Development that a third of BAME people feel discrimination has undermined their career progression? It is in the everyday, where I know some people who have changed their names to sound more palatable to the white ear. Changing who you are to fit in to a working environment should never have to be something people resort to. 

But how do we change this? We all have our own unconscious bias – every. single. one. of. us. So how do we get over this and lessen the effects of our unintentional bias? Well, let me bring you back to the gender for a second. It is easier for us to talk about gender inequalities because we all know someone of the opposite sex. But when it comes to talking about race, 34% of British people don’t have a friend from a different ethnic or cultural background. 

This lack of exposure to ‘other’ is what makes conversations so hard for many people, be that because they:

• are afraid they may offend
• have predisposed ideas based on negative stereotypes
• social influences from peers/family/friends 
• are racist 

People are comfortable with those that remind them of themselves. But we need to step out of this comfort zone and embrace different, embrace valuing people’s thoughts rather than their background. But sadly there aren’t enough BAME in c-suite (high level management) to normalise this. 

So what have organisations being doing all this time to correct the balance? 

There are many things organisations are doing to try to redress the balance including blind CVs (redacting names, institutions etc.) or finding new ways to reach a wider and more diverse candidate pool for job vacancies. Many larger workplaces have BAME networks. But as we are still talking about this issue, means that these actions in isolation are not working. Research shows that there appears to be a glass ceiling at middle-management level for BAME employees. Organisations have been called out to redress this balance for women (in gender pay gap reporting), with ongoing success, so why can’t we do this for BAME? The gender pay gap report calls out organisations that don’t address this issue. Maybe we need similar, compulsory reporting for BAME. 

Take a look at your own organisation – is it representative of the population in your area with regards to race? You can find these stats on your local council website. If you’re not representative, then ask yourself why and what you can be doing differently to redress the balance and open up opportunities. 

As will all things, this requires transparency and accountability from senior leaders otherwise anything that is actioned will be seen as disingenuous and your stakeholders (customers and employees) will know it.

A reading suggestion:

Diversify – How to challenge inequality and why we should by June Sarpong is a great read to get you thinking about marginalised groups in society, from ethnic minorities, to women, to LGBTQ+, and those living with disabilities.  

P.s.: If you want some other free tips for your personal life, check out the Self Series blog – out fortnightly on Tuesdays, courtesy of Make Me A Plan’s Wellbeing Expert, Tamsin Cain. Browse the latest edition here: https://www.makemeaplan.com/news/the-autumn-reset/