2024 is nearly at an end. It’s been momentous politically, societally and personally.
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A change of political administration, with equity, diversity and inclusion at least nominally taking a more central position (according to civil servants I’ve chatted with).
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The far-right riots alerting some white people to what brown and black people have been painfully aware of for quite some time – the pernicious, pervasive and increasing presence of racism. (And no, it’s not just poor people. Remember media reports of Conservative Party Staff creating racist Facebook groups in advance of summer’s Mayoral elections?)
It’s been a personally momentous year too. I got engaged. YAY! Welcomed a new and gorgeous nephew into the world. And worked with some brilliant clients who are quietly and diligently trying to create more equitable and inclusive organizations.
Below I share stats that motivated me to keep working with leaders and some that gave me hope that the move towards greater equity, diversity and inclusion, while slow, is unstoppable. I commented on the stats during the year, so here I will just remind you of them.
I also offer three reflections. I hope they are useful.
Stats that motivated me to keep going
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Almost half of young people from ethnic minority backgrounds have experienced discrimination or prejudice in entering the world of work. Source: Youth Futures Foundation
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When organisations committed to women’s advancement people believed intelligence and effort were less decisive in women’s promotions, but that intelligence was more decisive in men’s promotions. Also, that women’s promotions were less fair. Source: Nature Magazine
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31% of women research respondents have experienced microaggressions, 4% have experienced sexual harassment, and 8% have experienced other types of harassment at work in the past 12 months. A quarter of women say that people in senior positions within their organizations have made inappropriate actions or comments toward them. Source: Deloitte
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Working-class people are less likely to be hired by charities than by employers in the public and private sectors, with charity chief executives twice as likely as the wider population to have gone to private school, rising to three times as likely for the biggest charities. Source: EY Foundation
Stats that gave me hope that more organisations will wake up to the need for change
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In the finance world, ethnic diversity in the workforce has become an increasingly important factor for winning business for asset managers, with 21% of research respondents saying a lack of diversity in their companies could lose them new business. Source: Reboot UK Fund Manager Research.
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Organisations that score well on gender equality have three times higher loyalty, productivity, motivation and belongingness scores than those working with “laggards”. Source: Deloitte
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A company that makes diversity part of its DNA is “2.2X more likely to be a world class innovator” and “2.5X more likely to be a fast-growing company”. Source: Boston Consulting Group
Reflections
We need to wake up
The far-right riots were a reminder of how one dimensional and classist our view of racism is. We assume poorer communities are more prone to racism because they feel disenfranchised and we fail to join the dots to the public narrative around issues like migration which demonizes “others”, creating an environment that foments hatred. We don’t look behind the narrative to work out who is benefitting from them.
And how arrogant to assume that because someone is poor, they are ignorant and more likely to be biased.
We make similar assumptions about those we believe to be misogynists or homophobic, though perhaps not in such explicit ways.
We need to wake up and tackle the real causes of racism, misogyny, homophobia and ablism.
We need to stay calm
Whenever “bad” things happen, we get the inevitable outpouring of platitudes in the media and on platforms like Linked In. People express their thoughts clothed in anger, frustration and spikiness. I will hold my hand up. I have done that too.
Increasingly I have been considering how calmness could be a better response.
The public discourse around EDI and related issues can be akin to the “drama triangle” – a model stemming from transactional analysis – whereby people characterize themselves and others as victims, perpetrators or rescuers in any given situation or relationship dynamic. This creates a vortex that keeps people stuck in these roles, never reaching a solution. The only way out is to step into “adult” mode and end the cycle.
Could the answer be to help each other step into adult mode? If so, calm responses when “things” happen could unlock a more positive future. We may still need to “feel the feels” but respond from a place of calm.
We need to stay hopeful
My parents and 1st generation immigrants like them were clear that their hard work, contribution to society, even the way they carried themselves in the world was not for them, it was for us, their children and their children’s children.
Things are bad now, but they were worse in my parents’ day. That doesn’t make the issues we face less important or necessary to tackle, but I can live the life I live because they moved forward, step by step, to create the – albeit imperfect – world I now inhabit.
Most of all, they had hope and community. No matter what happened, they never let go of them.
Finally…
Whatever you are doing this festive season I hope you get to rest, connect with your family or community, experience love and come back in 2025 raring to go.
With heartfelt gratitude that we are in each others’ orbit…