Calling out privilege: How to go beyond policies to fight racism

With diversity and inclusion becoming ever more intrinsic to organizational strategy, employers paying lip service to DEI efforts do so at their own peril. Recent research from Lever revealed that 39% of employees think their organisation views DEI as a checkbox, despite 54% of employers increasing investments in related strategies over the past year.

And if you’re fake with your inclusion policies, employees will figure it out.

“Some employers do pay lip service to diversity. In other words, their actions tend to be performative, for the sake of their brand and to keep up with other organizations in their market,” says Tamisha Parris, founder of Parris Consulting.

“Other employers want to develop a diversity strategy but don’t know how to go about it, and their efforts tend to fizzle.”

It’s the same story over and over again – organizations making pushes towards authentic DEI strategies without making any real change. If directives and leadership don’t come from the top with DEI, it will inevitably fail – as the research often tells us.

Figures from the same survey reveal that 44% of employees think they’ve been overly promoted on the company's PR materials because of their gender or race so their workplaces can appear more diverse – with 62% adding that they think they were only offered an interview so their company could hit their diversity quota.

But inauthentic and deceptive DEI pushes aren’t just bad for morale, they’re bad for business.

"Employers must reevaluate their DEI efforts to ensure their policies are making employees and candidates feel included, welcome, and comfortable,” says Jessica Green, SVP, customer success at Lever. “One-off DEI initiatives don't cut it for employees or candidates, and inclusive and equitable practices need to be ingrained into the fabric of the company.”

Calling out privilege

One of the main reasons diversity pushes fail is a lack of awareness around privilege in the workplace – how it presents itself and the importance of calling it out.

“Privilege is a product of being in the majority of a given population,” adds Parris. “Whether that’s being white, heteronormative, cisgender, or able-bodied, it’s a person’s majority status that confers privilege. Often, that privilege is apparent in what doesn’t happen to a person versus what does. For example, if you’re white, you haven’t been subject to the type of discrimination that a Black or Indigenous person has experienced.

“You’ve likely never lost opportunities or been held back based on your skin colour. And as a result, you’ve enjoyed benefits, whether you recognize them or not, such as higher earnings. You’ve also received intangible benefits, such as feeling like you belong, not being singled out for your difference, and experiencing lower anxiety levels as a result.”

A big misunderstanding about privilege is that it means being born with a silver spoon in your mouth or never having had to work hard or struggle. Not so, says Parris.

“These stereotypes are problematic because they prevent people who are in the majority from truly understanding privilege,” she tells HRD.

For example, a white person who isn’t a high-income earner might feel offended at being called privileged because they don’t feel they’re enjoying a classically privileged life.

“But they do move through the world free of colour-based discrimination and, whether they see it or not, that’s a privilege.”

Implementing game-changing policies

So, how can we go about changing the narrative here? What tangible changes should employers be making in order to fight racism on the front lines?

“Anti-racism in the workplace must go beyond policies,” says Dr Melanie Peacock, winner of HRD’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “Measuring the presence or absence of racism, or determining what is actually occurring, is needed. Having Employee Resource Groups - both from racialized and non-marginalized workers - gather and respond to questions is a way to determine what is happening in an organization. 

It would also be interesting to note any discrepancies between what is shared between these two groups, she says.

“Feedback obtained can illuminate which practices need to be altered and tracking can be then implemented to ensure that this is actually taking place.”

It’s also important for managers and leaders to be held accountable, says Peacock, “while understanding and supporting the organization's commitment to creating a safe, inclusive workspace for all. 

“This necessitates frank, sometimes uncomfortable, conversations and development opportunities, for those in leadership roles.”