8 Things Workplaces can do to Become More Anti-Racist and Equitable
In my previous three blog posts, I wrote about diversity, equity and inclusion in Canadian workplaces. Today, I want to share advice on what workplaces can do to become anti-racist and equitable organizations. Persistent inequities including racism and the increased expectation that workplaces ensure justice and safety for staff, volunteers and others, make it imperative that employers act boldly.
Here are eight steps organizations can take to cultivate equity and inclusion:
1. Define clear policies and practices to make sure all employees are treated fairly and without discrimination. Review your current policies with an anti-racist and equity perspective and ensure all policies are accessible, clear and inclusive. Prepare to write policies that are missing and update all based on promising practices.
2. Educate yourself, your team, and your staff on the principles of equity and inclusion, as well as anti-racism. Offer annual training to all employees, and ensure this is mandatory for all, including managers and leaders. Ask for feedback from your employees on what additional information they want to receive, and offer training in various formats such as online and in-person, individual and group sessions.
3. Ensure you set everyone up for success. Make sure hiring processes and promotional opportunities are anti-racist and nondiscriminatory. This includes reviewing where you post job opportunities and consider job boards, groups and organizations that persons from equity-deserving groups access, using inclusive language in job ads, providing unsuccessful candidates with feedback, keeping applicants informed about the hiring process, asking interviewees about their commitments to anti-racism and equity, and creating a great onboarding experience for new staff. Also, create mentorship and leadership pathways for people from equity-deserving groups.
4. Cultivate a culture of understanding, respect, and compassion. Everyone must feel welcomed and included. And when folks do not feel included, respond by learning more about the issues and devising a plan to address them. Communicate to your employees what you are doing and why. And most importantly, hold staff accountable for their words and actions and support staff who have been harmed by racism and other forms of oppression.
5. Provide ways to hear everyone’s voice. Listen to their ideas and feedback and respond. Receive input through annual employee surveys, listening circles, town halls and meetings. If you do not already have employee resource groups, support employees to create them. Create inclusive spaces for folks to gather to discuss issues that impact them and their communities, and to plan initiatives that build community and address racism and inequities.
6. Put systems in place to allow for ongoing dialogue about racism, equity and inclusion. Create space for having difficult conversations and prepare your staff on how to navigate these discussions. Provide lots of support, have debrief sessions with the facilitators and schedule follow-up conversations. You may want to hire an external professional to facilitate discussions that are uncomfortable.
7. Consider anti-racism and inclusion throughout the organization. For example, not only in your human resources practices, but also in product and service design, customer service, marketing, suppliers and vendors, and community partnerships. Ask yourself how can we engage a wider community of persons, partners, suppliers and others from equity-deserving groups?
8. Establish your equity and inclusion key metrics and report on these annually. From your initial assessment of where your organization is at, develop an action plan to get you to your goals. Hire a staff team to carry out the plan, create a dashboard showing your progress and goals, and have an advisory committee with staff, managers, board directors and other important folks to oversee and support this work. Review the metrics regularly to determine which activities are working and which need to be adjusted and why.
Creating an anti-racist, equitable workplace is a challenging and long-term process, but it is an essential step to have safer and more inclusive work environments. By following the above steps, your organization will make important progress towards achieving positive and lasting changes in the workplace that will deepen employee satisfaction and build a foundation for equity and inclusion.
Thanks for reading and let me know what actions your organization is taking to become more anti-racist and just.