Say NO to Discrimination and YES to your Dream Career - episode 2

"It remains a damning fact of life that we ask too much of those who are marginalised and too little of those who are not" - Michelle Obama wrote in her second book the Light We Carry.

I had the privilege to give seminars to the beautiful & diverse audience at London Job Show on the 21st and 22nd of April, 2023 at Westfield, #London.

It was an amazing chance to mentor the audience on a very current topic: discrimination in the workplace and the Equality Act 2010 that protects the employees in the UK. At times when I personally faced with double discrimination in the workplace, being a woman of ethnic minority, getting myself educated was the best thing to do to to "go high". There will always be lows in our lives, but as Michelle Obama beautifully said, "when they go low, we go high". What does it actually mean going high when they go low?

Stay grounded, stay bold and show integrity when inequity needs addressing in the workplace. I know, it seems easy but it's so difficult to do in moments of injustice, unfairness. Don't react, take the time to reflect in order to be able to give a response not a reaction.

There are powerful researches showing that the employees with mentors are promoted 5 times more. Also, an educated leadership team and organisation enables growth: ?? business growth, ?? people growth, ?? mindset growth.

In this episod I address the education around the 4 types of #Discrimination under the Equality Act 2010:

1?? Direct Discrimination -?when a person is treated less favourably because of: a protected characteristic they possess,?a protected characteristic possessed by someone who they are associated with, a protected characteristic they are thought to possess regardless of whether the perception is correct or not.

2?? Indirect Discrimination -?it occurs when a rule or plan of some sort is put into place which applies to everyone; and is not in itself discriminatory but it could put those with a certain protected characteristic at a disadvantage. (procedures, policies)

3?? Harassment -?Harassment is ‘unwanted conduct’ related to a protected characteristic. It must have the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Bullying, nicknames, gossip, intrusive or inappropriate questions and comments can be harassment.?

4?? Victimisation?- occurs when an employee suffers a ‘detriment’ because they have done (or because it is suspected that they have done or may do) one of the following things in good faith: Make an allegation of discrimination, Support a complaint of discrimination, Give evidence relating to a complaint about discrimination, Raise a grievance concerning equality or discrimination, Do anything else for the purposes of (or in connection with) the Equality Act, such as bringing an employment tribunal claim of discrimination.

For employers, the best and sustainable way is to create a climate of education for their workforce on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Employers can bring in passionate educators, change agents, credible voices to mentor the organisation on sensitive topics. Executive Mentoring Programs for Senior Leaders and Managers are very powerful tools to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive climate.

This is the second episod about Say NO to discrimination and YES to your Dream Career. More to come in the next weeks.

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If you are an Organisation looking to attract, retain and motivate diverse talent through the power of Mentorship, of DEI practices, please drop a direct message.