Why Decolonising the Workplace is Important

In 1997 when the United Kingdom handed control of Hong Kong over to China academics declared the end of the British Empire. Most of the UK’s overseas colonies gained independence between 1945 and the 1970s when most of Europe in the wake of the second world war relinquished control of their?colonial holdings?across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. While this marked the end of direct colonialism the impacts of colonialism are still felt around the world every day. This may seem a little abstract for the world of work which we tend to like to keep apolitical, but to be an employer who weaves equality, diversity, and inclusion into all that they do, there is a need to decolonise the workplace.??

Decolonising the workplace may sound like an unusual term but already across education both in schools and universities there is a movement to decolonise the curriculum. Places of work can take the same mentality and break patterns in how they operate and hire staff that they may not even have conscious awareness of. Britain’s colonial past impacts how we as a nation interact with the world, and it also shapes in part how we as a nation view minority communities and speak about them. This article breaks down just a few simple tips and ideas that can be used to help decolonise your place of work.

1. Be aware of history and look into your own?

Colonialism is a part of everyone’s heritage in the UK one way or another. Not all of our ancestors had direct links to people involved in enforcing colonial rule but generational wealth and the economic position of the UK is largely built upon our colonial past. It is important that as business leaders you are aware that your business (if it is old enough) likely benefitted or played some hand in colonialism. This doesn’t mean you are an inherently unethical business, but it does mean you should acknowledge the role you as a company played in Britain’s colonial past. It may be a launching point in your efforts to decolonise to acknowledge your past and issue an apology for the company’s past involvement in colonial activities. With an apology comes an overarching sense that you as a business are aware and growing past your history to make yourself a leader in decolonising the world of work.

2. Continually improve and have new conversations as they emerge?

The world is not going to magically fix the damage and fallout of colonialism overnight, and you as one business can’t expect it to. Conversations we are having today about the economics and ethics of colonialism are only going to continually shift and change as we move further into the postcolonial period. The best thing you can do as a business is acknowledge that as new conversations about decolonisation, and about other social justice matters, emerge, that you will continue to welcome them and use them to modify how you operate and support staff from backgrounds that are impacted (usually people of colour and religious minorities).?

3. Become anti-racist?

The black lives matter (BLM) has reminded us all that racial injustice is alive and well. From this has come a movement to be anti-racist, instead of simply not being actively racist. What this means is instead of being a business or a person who does not engage in racism you are instead actively working against racism both on a personal and structural level. Anti-racist mentality means you call out and oppose structural racism, looking within your own hiring practices to weed it out. One way some businesses do this is to remove names from CVs to avoid unconscious bias towards non-British names. Studies have shown that people with ‘ethnic’ names are significantly less likely to succeed to interview in job applications even when a successful candidate with a traditionally British name had less qualifications. Other businesses have enacted stricter anti-discrimination policies or have looked into ways to eliminate structural discrimination in their corporate structure.?

4. Acknowledge privilege and how it impacts the world of work?

Privilege is massively impactful in how we all experience the world, and some of us are born with more of it than others. Some privilege is circumstantial like familial wealth, meaning it can change and shift within your life depending upon your circumstances. Other forms of privilege come from things we can’t change like our sex/gender, our race, our sexual orientation, and our religious community (obviously this can change but does largely stay the same for most people). Some groups of people have less privilege than others because the social group they belong to has historically been oppressed by society or by another country, as is the case for people who come from countries where a foreign power once occupied them. This privilege or lack thereof impacts how we navigate the world and how easily we access opportunities like jobs or education. Employers need to acknowledge white privilege, male privilege, and straight privilege when they work to decolonise their workplaces. Acknowledging your privilege means you understand that some things will inevitably be easier for some people because of the easier starting position they had in life than others do.??

5. Research your suppliers?

If you are a business that produces a product and has a network of suppliers, it may be time to research them more deeply and ensure they are ethical suppliers, especially if they work in developing nations and former European colonies. Unfortunately, there are still many companies both large and small that work in extracting natural resources from the developing world that do so unethically. It is too common that businesses will pay local people a very small fraction of what they rightfully should earn for the work they do and operate with little to no regard for the communities and environments their operations impact. If you want to decolonise how you work it is essential you research closely whom you are working with within your supply chain to ensure you are partnering with ethical businesses that are responsibly operating. From a purely business mentality, it is also important because partnering with ethical suppliers because which also breeds positive PR for you as a business. Several brands have been caught in hot water work working with unethical suppliers who underpay workers, use child labour, and have no safety regulations for their operations. Businesses that do this continue to perpetuate the mentality and harmful behaviours of colonialism.??

6. Validate cultural holidays and traditions?

Britain’s colonial past has led to many people from former colonies moving here for various different reasons. In recent years new waves of people from other cultures and communities have also settled in the UK. With these different groups of people come different holidays and traditions that you as a business may currently be overlooking. For many people of religious minorities at least some of their days of annual leave, each year are dedicated to observing religious and cultural festivals that have the same weight to them as Christmas does to most other people. One thing that many businesses now do to acknowledge and respect the cultural and religious traditions of their employees is to grant them a few days off to observe their respective celebrations. Personally, as a Hindu, being told that my observance of Diwali (one of the most significant religious festivals in our calendar) would not eat into my annual leave made me feel respected and seen by my employer. This is a small nod of recognition that begins to create a culture where we no longer view other cultures and their traditions as secondary or fringe. This is a big step to decolonise your workplace.?

7. Understand it’s a process and it will be ongoing?

Decolonisation is complicated and a long-winded process, both on a global scale, and in your workplace. As the conversation continues new ideas and concerns come up and it will be hard at times to understand everything at first. It is important to understand that it is a process, and when you begin to decolonise your workplace, it will be slow, gradual, and something that will be ongoing. It is something that you absolutely should do and there are many things to do to kick off the process.?

To find out more about how you can decolonise your workplace and begin to be an organisation who has equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of how you work?reach out to JGP Consultancy.?We can provide training on a number of?EDI related?topics as well as policy reviews, distributable resources, and so much more.?