{"id":18860,"date":"2020-07-02T09:15:16","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T13:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benefitscanada.com\/news\/addressing-racism-as-an-employer-must-begin-with-listening-147050"},"modified":"2020-07-02T09:15:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T13:15:16","slug":"addressing-racism-as-an-employer-must-begin-with-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2020\/07\/02\/addressing-racism-as-an-employer-must-begin-with-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing racism as an employer must begin with listening"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Martha Porado<\/span> | July 2, 2020 <\/p>\n

Organizations all over the world are pledging their commitments to anti-Black racism as global protests over the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others, move into their fifth week.<\/p>\n

While the outcomes of these numerous pledges remain to be seen, discussions on the topics of race and racism are being held in boardrooms and living rooms alike, adding to the chorus of voices chanting in the streets.<\/p>\n

For employers looking at more formally addressing issues of racism in the workplace, the first step is to listen, says Paula Allen, senior vice-president of research, analytics and innovation at Morneau Shepell Ltd. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about moving forward. We can\u2019t really move forward unless we understand what the current state is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: OPB outlines commitment to stand against anti-Black, anti-Indigenous racism<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

To many, the ongoing protests appear to be a tipping point, but she says it\u2019s integral for organizations to remember the events that sparked them don\u2019t represent a sudden change in the life of racialized communities, but rather the continuation of a longstanding pattern. \u201c[The first week of protests] and <\/strong>the week prior is not different in the life of a Black person or the month prior or the year prior. So the experiences people are starting to talk about right now and are starting to come to the forefront of their consciousness have been around for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Issues of race may feel extremely awkward precisely because they\u2019ve gone unaddressed for so long, notes Allen. \u201cThat\u2019s the first signal that this has been an under-recognized and repressed issue. Just the whole idea of talking about race in the workplace is not something that most organizations have ever felt terribly comfortable with. We talk about diversity and we talk about it from a number of different perspectives, which I support 150 per cent, but there is that uncomfortableness on really going deep on any particular aspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think, with the best of intentions, there\u2019s a lot of misunderstanding about what we\u2019re actually talking about. And that\u2019s where it starts. If you actually look at what racism is, it\u2019s a system. It\u2019s a systemic thing that invades parts of your life, it\u2019s not just one incident. It\u2019s really something that takes away your feeling of safety, your feeling of security and, very importantly, your feeling of self-determination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: Manulife investing $3.5M in workplace diversity, inclusion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not all racism takes the form of hateful vitriol or egregious violence, she says, but that doesn\u2019t mean its other forms are inconsequential. \u201cThere\u2019s a series of a thousand cuts that can cause a fair bit of damage. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Employers must be willing to listen to employees and think about why the space and occasion for that listening has been absent, says Allen. \u201cThe reason why it\u2019s so uncomfortable having this conversation right now is because listening wasn\u2019t encouraged and speaking wasn\u2019t condoned. There are very few people in racialized groups who would say that there isn\u2019t a massive feeling of anxiety just to even mention anything about race, because we end up being labelled as a complainer, playing the race card.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd think about that \u2014 we talk about anyone who\u2019s been through anything traumatic or difficult \u2014 think about having an experience you can\u2019t speak about without worrying about being punished, in a very silent sort of way, if you speak about what your real experience is.. . . When we\u2019re talking about very outright, hate-filled racism, people recognize that and there\u2019s outrage when it\u2019s so clearly wrong. But there is such a continuum and it\u2019s not just that that we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: Social connection can build or erode mental health, resilience<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

If there isn\u2019t a genuine readiness to be open to listening and empathizing with racialized peoples\u2019 experiences, she says, the conversation isn\u2019t worth starting. \u201d I think it\u2019s quite damaging if conversations are started and they aren\u2019t authentic and you\u2019re not really willing to finish the conversation and you\u2019re not willing to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many organizations are encouraging their managers to reach out to staff to open up that opportunity for listening. \u201cIf the managers are able to do that in a very human way, they don\u2019t have to be experts around race,\u201d says Allen. \u201cThey just have to know that they have to listen and they have to truly care about the person who is speaking. If they don\u2019t want to listen, if their ideas are hard set, if there\u2019s a set of biases (it could be unconscious bias), if they don\u2019t actually believe this issue is real, I would really say don\u2019t have the conversation, make sure you get some education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, she notes education is critical to ensuring a manager can listen to and absorb the experiences that a racialized employee wishes to share with them. \u201cWhen I\u2019m talking about being heard, it\u2019s really about letting that person say whatever they\u2019re comfortable saying, just making sure they feel validated as human beings, being part of an empathetic conversation, without the need to change the person [they\u2019re speaking to] or justify every point or provide lists of evidence points.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be open to hearing and, if not, you\u2019ve got to get educated before you start that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: Scotiabank recognized for creating culture of diversity in workplace<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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