How Narratives of Racial Progress Create Barriers to Inclusion
Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey
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Organisations want you to believe we’re headed towards racial equity.?
Rob Briner introduced me to a research paper that says instead of helping Inclusion.?
This narrative harms Inclusion.?
Remember in 2020 when everyone was falling over themselves to talk about racism?
One of the typical responses from organisations was:?
- To call out racism?
- To declare themselves to be Anti Racist?
This kind of behaviour and everything that came with it
Contributes to a narrative of racial progress according to a research paper called:?
Why does this narrative harm Inclusion??
The narrative implies that racism is "rapidly, and perhaps naturally, decreasing over time“
The authors suggested this would lead to 4 consequences that undermined an inclusive workplace:?
Here's a quick summary.
1 Organisations start to think they are race neutral
Evidently they play little to no role in the persistence of racism.
I didn’t agree with this point.?
The paper opened by highlighting the widespread practice of organisations in?denouncing racism.
To me.. this is not a race neutral position.?
This makes more sense when applied to organisations that are silent about race.?
2 Barriers emerge for complex race discussions about equity
This was based on two assumptions about People of Colour:
- They are more likely to have socioeconomically diverse social networks?
- Their estimates of racial inequality in society are more accurate than their White counterparts
The?authors suggested?that White workers will overestimate racial equity in society.?
Therefore attempts by People of Colour to advocate for Inclusion are going to perceived negatively.?
Why?
Because the narrative says that this problem is already being fixed.
3 Greater momentum for less effective policy change
This means:
-?More incremental policy changes
- Less radical structural changes
It also means supporting policies that have:
"little to no apparent benefit to workers’ everyday experiences.”
This makes room for:?
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- Flags food and fun as a strategy?
- Panel events with people with no expertise?
- Unconscious bias training?
I’ve been saying this for years.?
I’ve been ignored for years.?
If this paper is right I will continue to be ignored for years.?
4?DEI become less urgent
This may be the most important point.?
The narrative of racial progress implies:?
- Organisations will naturally diversify over time
-?Racial progress is naturally unfolding?
- Things are better than you think?
If this is true.?
There is no need to do much to create equitable and inclusive organisations.?
A calm measured approach is appropriate.
--
Given the lack of progress since 2020.?
This narrative doesn’t appear to serve Inclusion.?
I think of this paper as a cautionary tale.?
It’s meant as a warning for what can happen.?
That’s why they didn’t spend much time on solutions.?
But out of the 4 points raised.?
The 3 most relevant to me were the following:?
Narratives of Racial Progress?
-?Make conversations about Race at work more challenging?
-?Lead to less?effective policies and?initiatives?
-?Make Diversity and Inclusion less urgent as a goal?
Which makes the most sense to you?
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2 年Love this Dr. Jonathan. You are SO right. Firstly creating a false narrative like the one you describe is disrespectful to the truth - that racism infiltrates every corner of UK life and has done at least since colonial times. And when people frame something as 'anti-racist' it's starting from a negative bench mark. What proactive action is being taken? Can we stop smugly advertising people who proudly declare they are 'not racist' (again a negatively framed phrase). It shouldn't be an achievement to like other people. Deep listening and compassionately inviting others into the experience of our lives and learning together That's the strategy. We don't need a policy for that. We just need to be open hearted. In fact lets stop using the word 'them' anyway and start to talk about 'we'...
Researcher, SocioCognitivePsychologist, Philosopher researching emotions, feelings, embodied cognition
2 年This is a thought provoking and challenging podcast. I love the conclusion that human social improvement programmes like inclusion should be evidence based and not able to be obscured and misinterpreted by vague headline statements that allow people 'to say one thing and do another.' Leaders' ongoing aims and effectiveness need to be regularly discussed and proved in action and this involves collaborating to acknowledge successes but also 'holding to account' in practical and constructive ways. You need a fair system, with training in appropriate aspects of anti-discrimination law of all kinds. This would help towards self-regulation and awareness because the meaning of each person's rights is explicitly explained to everybody as a matter of course.