Breaking the Habit of Systemic Racism in the Workplace

It's been almost a year since the release of the best-selling book The Pink Elephant. In honor of the one-year book-versary, The Pink Elephant is now on sale at drjanicegassam.com . Buying books directly from the author is so impactful, especially for independent self-published authors. This week's Pink Elephant newsletter features an excerpt from Chapter 9 of The Pink Elephant.

This book makes a great gift for friends, family, coworkers and bosses looking to learn more about racial equity in the workplace.

Chapter 9: Breaking the Habit of Systemic Racism

To create an anti-racist workplace, we must break our habits of racism. We’ve explored strategies to unpack our individual racism and recognize our blindspots but as an organization, systemic changes will not occur until we fix the structures from which racism is able to thrive. What policies, practices, and procedures can be implemented into your workplace to create and foster an anti-racist workplace?

• Setting goals: If your company is truly committed to creating an anti-racist organization, goal-setting is imperative. What does racial equity look like in your company? Clearly define what your goals are and utilize S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting strategies to develop clear DEI objectives. The S.M.A.R.T. acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Racial equity goals should be clearly defined and assessed on a consistent basis. The act of simply setting goals and writing them down increases the likelihood of goal attainment. In addition to setting goals, to get leadership more invested in fostering racial equity, these specific goals should be tied to executive pay or bonuses. Breaking the habit of racism in your organization requires a clear understanding of the specific race-related issues and what aspects of your workplace are creating barriers to racial equity and inclusion. Once these barriers are clearly defined, create specific objectives for how to overcome these obstacles.
• Greater objectivity: Assess every system and structure within the organization. What are the daily practices and procedures? Evaluate what the processes are for each of these procedures and policies and then analyze whether these processes are objective. Does your company, for example, utilize a rubric when evaluating job candidates or job performance? A rubric is a scorecard that hiring managers can use to make less biased decisions when hiring candidates. During a job interview, a rubric is used to evaluate a job candidate and assess whether they possess the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for a particular role. Having specific and measurable criteria for evaluating individuals can be an effective strategy to foster racial equity. In addition, structured interviews can mitigate the unconscious bias that tends to creep into the hiring and selection process. Assess each company procedure and investigate whether these processes and procedures are objective, fair and equitable.
• Create a diverse pipeline: Organizations must take an active role in developing a racially diverse pipeline. Many companies complain about their inability to find diverse talent yet many organizations are doing little to ensure that diverse candidates are being attracted to the organization. If there is an apparent lack of diverse candidates in your pool, what systems can be created to ensure that underrepresented groups are attracted to the organization? Apprenticeship and internship programs are two ways to create direct access to potential candidates. Apprenticeship programs often involve equipping interested candidates with the hands-on skills necessary to be skilled in a particular industry. Internship programs are also a great way to attract diverse talent but the key to remember is that internships should be paid. Candidates from underrepresented racial backgrounds don’t often have the luxury of working an unpaid internship so unpaid internships may unintentionally discourage applicants of color from applying. Be proactive about building a diverse talent pool so that you are able to impact diverse representation at the company. Building an anti-racist workplace involves not only engaging in activities that foster racial equity and inclusion but also dismantling practices that may be keeping people out of the company.
• ?Hold racists accountable: It’s important to draw a clear line in the sand to indicate to employees that your organization does not tolerate racism in any way, shape or form. Employees that engage in hate speech or racist behaviors must be disciplined. There is no one-size-fits-all playbook for when to fire a racist versus when to take disciplinary action against someone who shows racist tendencies. When something is said or done that is considered racially offensive, it is imperative that it’s addressed in one way or another. The only way to create an anti-racist organization is to hold people who perpetuate racism accountable. No matter how many impactful policies, practices and procedures are implemented into the organization, if racists are able to advance and thrive within the company, you will never be able to create an anti-racist workplace.
• Recognize some of the common racial/ethnic micro-aggressions: It is important to understand some common racial micro-aggressions that can sabotage a conversation and make a person feel othered. This is by no means an exhaustive list but simply a starting point for you to gain a deeper understanding of what some current racial/ethnicity micro-aggressions are.?

For more information about specific and common micro-aggressions that can make people feel othered, and how to avoid them, pick up the best-selling book The Pink Elephant.

CLICK HERE to purchase your copy of Dr.Janice’s best-selling books directly through her website. A portion of the proceeds from each book sale go to support The Loveland Foundation’s Therapy Fund —a resource dedicated to making therapy accessible for Black women and girls. Grab your copy now. It makes a great gift!

About The Pink Elephant newsletter:

The Pink Elephant newsletter is a weekly LinkedIn newsletter designed to stimulate critical and relevant dialogue that centers around topics of race and racial equity. The newsletter is curated by Janice Gassam Asare, Ph.D . who is a writer, speaker, consultant, educator, and self-proclaimed foodie. Janice is the host of the Dirty Diversity podcast, where she explores diversity, equity and inclusion in more detail. Dr. Janice’s work is centered around the dismantling of oppressive systems while amplifying the voices and needs of the most marginalized folks. If you are seeking guidance and consultation around diversity, equity, and inclusion in your workplace, visit the website to learn more about services that can be tailored to your specific needs. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share with others you feel would gain value from it. Lastly, if you’d like to get free tips on diversity, equity, and inclusion, sign up for Dr.Janice’s free newsletter through her website .