Black History Month : Time for Action

Black History Month : Time for Action

October marks Black History Month in the UK. Now in its 35th year, this important event is dedicated to learning about and celebrating the history, achievements and contributions of black people in the UK and globally.

This year’s theme is “Time for Change: Action Not Words”. Unfortunately, racism and discrimination continue to exist in our society and black people are often tasked with the double burden of not only experiencing it but fixing it.

According to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity, the UK’s creative industries have traditionally been dominated by a narrow sector of the population that fails to represent the UK as a whole. Ethnic minorities make up just 16% of the UK advertising workforce and just 1% of black talent are in C-suite positions.

Reflecting on the past is undoubtedly important but as a collective we must look to the future and take positive and meaningful action to create a better, fair and equal world for all.

What businesses can do

Since Black History Month was first celebrated in the UK in 1987, an increasing number of businesses have sought to use the event as an opportunity to raise the topic of race, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

But celebrating Black History Month needs to be about much more than token acts such as social media posts, website banners and press releases. While recognition of the event is important and helps raise awareness, leaders should take their cue from this year’s theme and make sure they’re taking real action and practicing what they preach. If businesses simply pay lip service because they want to “be seen to be doing something”, they run the risk of potentially alienating employees.

There are number of different initiatives businesses can use to mark Black History Month. These include educating employees with resources such as books, podcasts and articles or inviting speakers into the organisation to discuss topics surrounding black history and identity. Panel discussions and workshops can create safe spaces for employees to ask questions, bounce ideas about and think of ways they can help make a difference.

In addition, leaders could allow employees time off to volunteer with local charities or programmes that support black communities.

However, it’s important that the efforts taken by businesses don’t appear performative or insincere.

To ensure that their actions resonate with their employees, leaders should call on everyone within the organisation for ideas and input. Allow employees to share their own experiences, stories and feelings and put forward what they feel the organisation should be doing but be careful not to assume that someone wants to be involved simply based on their ethnic background. If certain employees feel pressure to be involved, it may have the opposite effect of making them feel tokenised.

Leaders themselves should also champion the importance of diversity and inclusion, expressing their own interest, efforts and vulnerabilities. They can educate their workforce on why conscious and unconscious bias continues to exist and how the business is taking steps to challenge and overcome these. When leaders champion diversity and inclusion, it helps to create a culture that not only welcomes people of all ethnic backgrounds but makes them feel a valued, integral part of the business.

All-year effort

Black History Month can be a powerful conversation-starter, helping businesses to address the topic of diversity and inclusion but it’s important that these conversations are not limited to one month of the year. Building truly diverse and inclusive workplaces is an ongoing, continual effort.

Leaders should think about what diversity looks like within their organisation and what more needs to be done to create a more diverse, inclusive workplace. What is the make up of the business? How has this changed in recent years? How effective is the organisation’s recruitment and onboarding process in encouraging people from all ethnic backgrounds to apply?

Businesses should work together to ensure they are educating people from all backgrounds on the career opportunities within the creative industry and take steps to do more when it comes to hiring people without industry experience or certain qualifications. Paid internships and work experience, ensuring candidate pools are diverse, can be a great way to encourage more people to enter the industry.

Moving beyond numbers, leaders should also understand how their people feel. One study found that as many as one in three black employees within advertising don’t feel they belong in the industry and 22% reported discrimination due to ethnicity. A great way to get under the skin of the business is an employee sentiment survey. Giving people a platform to air their views and feelings anonymously can be a great way to truly understand the culture of the business. Don’t be afraid to seek feedback – it is this feedback that can help to drive improvements in the workplace.

Does the business have a culture of allyship? Creating allies can help organisations move from performative gestures to real, impactful action that will drive change across the workplace. An ally takes time to educate themselves on the experiences and struggles of black people and they’re not afraid to stick their head above the parapet and call out discrimination and inequalities in the workplace. Allies can ensure that people of all ethnic backgrounds have a place at the table in meetings, so that the organisation is receiving a truly diverse range of ideas and input.

Increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not only morally the right thing to do but has numerous business benefits too. Research has shown that companies that are racially and ethnically diverse are more likely to have better-than-average financial returns and 76% of people say that a diverse workforce is an important factor when considering companies and job offers.

It’s also important to remember that supporting diversity doesn’t need to be limited to within the organisation. Is there diversity within the supply chain? Is the business partnering with black businesses? Is there more the business could be doing to support diverse communities?

Similarly, is the work you do as a business and the content you produce representative of diversity? Does your brand resonate with different groups of people? Again, this shouldn’t be about tokenism but creating content that recognises and understands the needs of people from different backgrounds.

Research has shown that people are more likely to consider or purchase a product if the advert is diverse or inclusive, with 69% of black consumers more likely to buy from a brand whose advertising positively reflects their race/ ethnicity.

As we see a growing number of companies celebrate Black History Month, leaders need to be careful that their efforts and commitment to diversity do not ebb away for the remaining 11 months of the year. Truly successful, innovative and forward-looking companies are those who understand the importance of creating practices, policies and cultures where everyone feels respected, valued and heard. No one company can change the world alone but together we have the ability to make the creative industry a more diverse, interesting and inclusive place.