Are you missing opportunities to demonstrate your commitment to equity and anti-racism? Are your daily actions aligned with equity and anti-racism principles?
I pose these questions as I'm currently assisting a Black-owned business poised for growth, yet facing discouragement from challenges ranging from credit acquisition to securing partnerships to finding mentors in the industry. Despite their strong track record, twenty-plus years of experience in the industry and endorsements from current partners, they continue to receive hard “no’s” and responses along the lines of:
"We don't want to set a precedent,"
"We've already accommodated one group and can't accommodate another,"
"We can't make an exception,"
"Now is not the right time,"
"This contradicts our current direction,"
"This isn't a fit for us at the moment."
If you find yourself saying any of these phrases or a version of these, recognize that you are contributing to the status quo, you are holding on to power and you are keeping the doors of opportunity and access to equity deserving groups closed.
To shift into equity practices that can make a difference to your workplace culture and equity deserving groups:
Review your decision-making processes and criteria. Who is involved in making decisions, one person or a collective that includes individuals with different lived experiences and backgrounds? Review your decision-making criteria, does it take into consideration structural and systemic racism?
Stay flexible and open to new possibilities. Are you using and relying on a strategic plan or operational plan that didn’t consider equity or doesn’t include equity centred goals?
Take time out of your day, week or quarter to identify and observe choice moments, where you actively decide to use your power, privilege and sphere of influence to advocate for equitable opportunities, process and practices.
Embracing these practices not only aligns with ethical imperatives but also enhances innovation, creativity, and will lead to greater customer support. As noted by the Diversity Institute’s Wendy Cukier, 52% of consumers say that an organization’s social, environmental, cultural and political action are important to them. Additionally, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion has found that having inclusive cultures and policies improves an organization’s reputation by 58%. They also found that feelings of inclusion along with organizational commitment to diversity increases innovation by 83%. Ultimately, the data shows that organizational practices of equity, diversity and inclusion increases overall organizational success.
So I’ll ask you again, are you missing out on opportunities to demonstrate your commitment to equity and inclusion?
Chanel Grenaway & Associates Inc. is committed to helping leaders, staff teams and boards get aligned with their anti-racism and inclusion goals through continuous learning and practice change. Do you need support to start or accelerate your equity practice and outcomes? Happy to hop on a call with you to see how I might help. Let’s chat.