Opinion Piece: Is there really a future for diversity and inclusion in France?

A few weeks ago, I applied for a job in diversity and inclusion at a well-known French-based diversity-consulting firm. I was quite ecstatic to apply because I thought the job description complimented not only my personal and professional goals but also my educational background.

I grew up on the small Caribbean island of Saint Lucia with a population of about 180 000. That means I pretty much knew everyone and everyone knew me. Thus, like most young islanders, I had no other option but to leave in order to further my education (in all senses of the word).

In 2011, I packed up my suitcases and moved to Barbados, where I pursued a BA degree in French and Spanish at the University of the West Indies. Upon completing my degree, I moved to Martinique to teach English. Then, pursued a distance-learning Master's degree in Communications, Media and Public Relations from the University of Leicester.

In May of 2018, after finally checking off all the boxes I thought I needed to finally start a career in media and live a stable life, I moved to Lyon to be with my French boyfriend. I mean, who hasn't dreamt of living la vie en rose?

I was ready to take the French job market by storm thanks to my BAC+5, my fluency in 3 languages, my strong work ethic, my enviable organisation skills, and my travel and work experiences in a number of Anglophone, Francophone and Spanish-speaking countries.

But, little did I know, France had other plans for me, such as visa appointments that took months to organise, a job market that's not very welcoming to foreigners and plain ole racism.

After confronting several job- and race-related issues in France, I started thinking more and more about what I could do to better the situation. That's when I stumbled on posts about people working within the sphere of diversity and inclusion. The more I learnt about the work of Rosanna Durruthy, Amanda Seales, Kerel Cooper, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Elaine Welteroth, Myra LalDin and others leading the way in diversity the more I started envisioning myself in this field.

So, I applied for my dream job. I thought that it must have been destiny because 1) I had experience in working with older professionals. I mean I've taught 18-60 year olds for over 8 years now. 2) I'm part of an oftentimes under-represented group in France. 3) I know what it feels like to be the only person of colour in any size gathering. 4) I have plenty of experience communicating and interacting with people from all walks of life. 5) I have had and continue to face race-related issues which have forced me to understand the importance of diversity and inclusion in all aspects of life.

Yet, I did not even make it to the first round of the application process because according to the recruiter, “I didn't have sufficient experience in working with executives and managers during training sessions”. Fair enough, I guess. I could let that slide. But, isn’t that why companies train new recruits before allowing them to lead their own workshops? However, it was the second reason that really shocked me. This recruiter claimed that I did not have sufficient knowledge about discrimination and equality. I'm sorry, what?!

So, I decided to do some research on this recruiter who I soon discovered is not only the founder of this business but is also Caucasian and middle aged. I then decided to look up the rest of the consultants (about 10) on LinkedIn, who all happen to be Caucasian as well. Well, except for one black woman who I immediately contacted. She was kind enough to reply to my InMail and engage in a phone conversation with me. She actually found my story quite entertaining and replied: "Well, unfortunately, when it comes to the field of diversity and inclusion in France, there really is a lack of diversity and inclusion". She even explained that she had attended meetings where she was just 1 of 4 minorities even though there were over 300 diversity and inclusion consultants in attendance.

I pondered on her words for a few minutes (maybe more than I probably should have) after our conversation, because there was only one question on my mind: Is there really a future for diversity and inclusion in France? Because it seems like the people leading the industry are not even open to changing it.