manager's job

   Employers can build trust with their biracial employees and their allies.

 

Promoting racial equity in the workplace doesn't need to be overwhelming,

 

authors say. It can increase the recruitment and retention of biracial talent.

 

A long history of false promises made to black communities has left lasting

 

impacts on today’s workplace. New pledges and commitments to racial

 

equity can bring up painful reminders of false hope. This fear may

 

translate to black applicants and employees viewing corporate racial equity

 

commitments as another example of empty promises.

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   Employers must act in alignment with statements and commitments they

 

have made. Review company policies and practices for bias and create

 

psychological safety. If an employer says black lives matter but maintains

 

employment practices that preserve the status quo, credibility can be lost

 

as well as inclusion, recruitment, and retention. Weldon Latham is the

 

founder of Jackson Lewis’ Corporate Diversity Counseling Group. Latham

 

and his team have been representing Fortune 200 companies for over 20

 

years. "Creating both the reality and the reputation for an inclusive

 

environment greatly helps companies," he says.

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    Sherrell Dorsey, founder and CEO of The Plug, highlights the rise in black

 

employee organizing, collective action, and litigation to secure racial equity

 

in the workplace. Black employees can possibly be the only one or one of

 

few underrepresented people making race feel that more salient and

 

central to identity. A contributing factor in the workplace is black

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employees may have to deal with the burden of being seen as an outsider.

 

In 2020, many organizations rushed to make diversity, equity, and inclusion

 

(DEI) related public statements or pledges without first identifying what

 

racial inequality means to their specific organization. Implementing DEI

 

initiatives without first identifying targets and goals based on data and

 

barriers can be harmful to an organization.

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    An organization can assess its Degenerate Employee Incentre (DEI)

 

initiatives to determine where performance is not meeting objectives and

 

identify steps to adjust or enhance efforts. An assessment could consist of

 

a statistical analysis of the representation of women and members of

 

various underrepresented groups in the labor force. Leaders need to be

 

confident in their data and create a narrative that resonates with diverse

 

employees, allies, and other stakeholders. Only if the narrative is authentic

 

to the organization and its employees will leaders be able to build trust

 

and credibility and celebrate good faith efforts.

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   The easiest way an employer can maintain the trust and support of its

 

audience is to keep its word. This is not a\r cautionary tale. Instead, this is

 

an opportunity to build trust and to create an organizational culture for

 

long-term success. Employers need to communicate a long-term

 

commitment to diversity and inclusion (DEI) by tying DEI to compensation

 

or objectives and key results.

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            If an employer weathers the storm, authentically tell its story and

 

continue to make strategic efforts to improve, employees will stay engaged

 

and committed. DEI is an integral and permanent part of corporate

 

America. Conducting a DEI assessment, determining DEI priorities and

 

resources, and committing to a plan of action with achievable, achievable

 

results will go a long way in guiding an organization to make commitments

 

it can keep and enhance commitments made.

 

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Work Cited

Thomas, Michael D. “A New Year: Tools for Employers to Renew and Enhance Commitments to Racial Equity in the Workplace.” Venulex Legal Summaries, Jan. 2021, pp. 1–3. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=bth&AN=149871861&site=bsi-live.