The issue of racism in organizations
Even with several researches bringing data about the impact that structural racism brought to the reality of black people in our country, this reality – in many moments – is justified by the fact that a large part of the black population does not have access to quality education, language mastery, etc.
For a long time, black people were the minority in higher education classrooms and this changed, according to IBGE. In this survey, for the first time, Black people (black or brown) became the majority in public universities in the country, representing 50.3% of students, data also supported by the study “Social Inequalities by Color or Race”.
Diversity has become a very common word in the discourse of many companies and inclusion is one of the most widespread values. Investing in policies to promote diversity means investing in cultural enrichment and in the organization’s employing brand, thus bringing several benefits to the company and employees.
This point also represents a change of mentality in the work environment, which can be challenging. It is necessary to study ways to carry out more egalitarian selection processes, in which social differences are considered when evaluating candidates.
We still see few companies that act in an active way to promote equal opportunities between black and white people and, as much has been said, we need to work against racism in an active way, not only observe. Not promoting racism is not enough, we need to have anti-racism attitudes.
Actions to combat racism within organizations
To promote real equality within the company, we have created a list of actions to guide you, with your work, on how to contribute so that future research brings more equal data, regardless of race or gender.
Practical actions that help in the fight against structural racism in companies:
Know more about the subject
Study the impact that racism has had on society and how it affects our day. Get to know the movements and their flags, scholars of the area and also listen to the people. In order for you to collaborate with the cause in the right way, you must also understand what we are dealing with.
Work the data of your company
Meet the people who make up the organization. Identify their behavioral, demographic and social characteristics So you will have consistent and comprehensive information, enabling a more accurate and complete picture of the organization data will show what are the indicators of diversity in the company and support management, HR and managers with knowledge to structure the actions of the company to promote diversity.
Recognize the differences
This is the main point for your company to abandon segregation. It is necessary to recognize that racism exists and is something structural that needs to be deconstructed with actions that go beyond theory.
Understanding that people have different experiences and that their color and gender influence the experiences that people go through is a very important step to promote a healthy environment for everyone.
This understanding will make your employees, who today feel a minority for some reason, realize that they are included in a company that acts with empathy and does not ignore individual challenges.
Work the way the company presents itself
We naturally look for people and values that resemble us and this is no different when looking for a job opportunity. Therefore, the image that your company conveys, from its identity to its positioning and communications, is something of extreme importance.
If you present yourself and be, obviously, a company that supports diversity with real actions, it will also make the participation in your selection processes more diverse, besides being something engaging for your employees, also helping in your turnover indicator.