How to have the uncomfortable conversation about racism
Let me paint you a picture. A couple of months ago I joined an online meeting about anti-racism in Danish organizations. To be honest I didn't know what to expect - after a long day at work - I was tired. I didn’t feel compelled to dive into an hour and a half zoom meeting, however, I kept myself accountable and I joined the online meeting - pajama pants, notepad, and all.
Honestly, I am still glad that I attended that zoom meeting because it was a necessary reminder of the following things I forget as a D&I consultant.
We often feel more comfortable discussing white supremacy, racism and discrimination in the theoretical. By intellectualizing racism and discrimination, we place distance between ourselves and these real world issues - along with our responsibility to act.
A majority of clients believe all forms of discrimination are bad. However, there is a difference between believing and embodying. One can believe in equality and accept it as truth, however, to embody equality in a visible way is more impactful.
There’s a whole laundry list of key insights from the talk. However, the following statement by Kevin Groen stood out to me the most, “None of the clients I’ve worked with have ever wanted to directly engage with anti-racism or toxic masculinity.” Sadly he is right. At that moment, I realized that none of our clients were asking us to work with anti-racism.
If anything, clients want digestible forms of D&I. The most common scenario, clients ask us to speak to the business case of D&I instead of a moral perspective. The main reason for bringing up the business case is to generate interest from C-level executives or to demonstrate the financial benefits of D&I for the business. And as my boss and I sit in these client meetings negotiating content and justifying the need for certain topics - it feels off to both of us. And after attending the anti-racism zoom meeting I understood the reason why.
Most companies are willing to participate in digestible forms of D&I training for a couple of hours or a day, but rarely do companies create and follow through on actionable consequences for employees subjecting coworkers to discriminatory and racist remarks.
What is does mean to be anti-racist?
To quote Ibram X. Kendi, historian and leading scholar of race and discriminatory policy in America, “The opposite of ‘racist’ isn’t ‘not racist’.
It is ‘anti-racist.’
Therefore it requires work. Above The Noise defines anti-racism as an ACTIVE state of mind. It is the ACTIVE process of identifying and opposing racism such as identifying your own racist or biased thoughts and behaviors, calling out racist behavior in others, calling out policies and cultures within institutions that perpetuate systemic racism.
How does racism show up in the workplace?
Even though it may seem like America has a monopoly on white supremacy, racism, and discrimination - it happens globally and takes different forms based on the region. Denmark is not exempt from this conversation. In 2020, Dr. Mira Skadegaard mentioned in one of her lectures “...ideological racism is the concept of racism which is most in play when talking about racism and discrimination (in Denmark), and in some weird way we in Denmark have become disconnected 40 years ago and are still stuck in this obsolete concept of racism and discrimination.” And she’s not wrong, Danes need to move into the contemporary conversation about racism and discrimination. This is why:
In April, the Ministry of Employment published a study showing that ethnicity was among the main causes of bullying in Danish workplaces – almost twice as much as gender.
Studies from Aarhus University demonstrated that it is considerably more difficult to get a job if you have an Arabic-sounding name. A research study from the University of Copenhagen showed that women wearing headscarves must send on average 60% more applications than ethnic Danish women before being invited for an interview. A survey conducted by Wilke showed that 18% or one in five employees have experienced racism at work in the form of “stupid jokes” and “hyggeracism”.
Racist experiences and actions are often cloaked in humor. What some people may perceive as harmless or even fun jokes have deleterious effects on other people’s self-esteem and physical health.
Exposing employees to discrimination and racism should be taken seriously by business because it’s the right thing to do - everyone deserves to feel included, safe, and welcomed in a space we spend most of our time in. However, for organizations that need that bottomline approach - here it is - employees who feel discriminated against are less productive, take more sick days, and in the long run end up leaving the company.
How can Danish organizations work with anti-racism and anti-discrimination?
Be aware of Danish racial exceptionalism. As Professor Mathias Danbolt notes - Denmark is not exempt from racism. Racism is not something left in the past nor is it only perpetuated by hate groups. Rather, it is contemporary forms of racism often disguised as “stupid jokes” and “hyggeracism”.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. There is the common belief that the person speaking about racism and discrimination is the racist. Conversations surrounding white supremacy, racism, and discrimination are shrowded in shame, guilt, taboo. Let’s work together to normalize these conversations in the workplace.
Growth mindset. Racism is learned behavior like anything else. The contemporary definition used in research focuses on systemic racism. The contemporary definition facilitates a mindset where we are all part of the racist system and it is almost inevitable not to perform racist behaviors at some point in time. Thus, we are not morally corrupt or "bad people", we just act along with the racist system in which we live - and we need to be aware of it and unlearn these racist behaviors. Shift your mindset from “I am not racist - I am a good person” to “ is there a possibility that I have acted in racist ways - if so what can I do to improve?”
Ongoing process. Anti-racism and anti-discriminatory work is an ongoing process.Companies should provide employees and leaders with continual anti-racist training, or at the very least encourage them to seeking this knowledge.
Call to Action. Are you willing to embody equality for all by working with anti-racism within your organization?