The Anti-Racist Organization...

There are plenty of books out there that speak about diversity and inclusion, yet very few specifically address systemic racism.

The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace does what it says on the tin.

In the spirit of full transparency, this isn’t a soft and fluffy book that panders to whiteness or seeks to make the subject palatable for decision makers.

It isn’t one that gently cajoles leaders into action, creating a smooth, risk-free path to racial equity.

Nor does it seek to prove that racism is a ‘thing’ and why you should care enough to do differently.

There are also no chapters dedicated to the business case for diversifying your teams, neither will you find page after page of trauma porn – the shocking and horrifying stories of how Black colleagues are treated in the workplace.

Why haven’t I included these things?

Because they don’t work. There is no correlation between empathy and taking substantive action and I’m not about to convince business leaders of the economic benefits of ensuring fairness for Black colleagues. If I did, what does that remind you of?

I wrote this book for people who want to get on with it. Particularly white leaders, who occupy most executive positions in corporations on both sides of the Atlantic.

Those of you who:

• Suddenly found yourselves having to speak with confidence and clarity about an issue you may have avoided talking about, both personally and professionally.
• Want to exercise your power, privilege, and influence to enact change for groups of colleagues, who to varying degrees have been consistently silenced, marginalised, and excluded from opportunities because of their ethnicity
• Care about social justice and want to ensure that actions and interventions make a difference in a way that goes beyond ticking boxes
• Want to align anti-racism to your core values and business objectives in a way that is meaningful and not performative or tokenistic
• Can put your head above the parapet, to ask tough questions of yourself and others, and be prepared to listen, really listen, and have your views, beliefs and perspectives of the world challenged
• Are willing to work hard to resist feeling superior, or being the saviour, or taking action geared towards what looks good rather than what makes a difference.
• Have been given incorrect advice telling you that hiring more Black people is the answer.

You can get hold of your copy today from all good bookstores and of course from Amazon HERE. I’m confident it’s a worthwhile read and you are welcome to DM me with your thoughts and feedback.

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“I want everyone to be treated the same, regardless of identity…”

I can sympathise with the sentiment but sentiments such as this is akin to burying your head in the sand.

An anonymous CEO told me recently:

“Our company culture is based on all individuals being treated as equals. We do not set quotas around race, religion or sex. As a result we have a highly diverse team from all walks of life..”

 Really? I’m sceptical just how ‘highly diverse’ their team is. They went on to say:

“For inclusive companies like ours where all individuals are treated equally I believe introducing a program that goes and points out differences will in fact have a negative impact on culture.” 

That’s what I find so disappointing – thinking that naming and addressing structural inequalities will be divisive, or harmful.

This level of ignorance in 2022 is still prevalent amongst many organizations. What they fail to realise is the only thing harmed by programmes that confront unequal treatment head on is the ‘innocence’ of groups (whether male, white, heterosexual, cis-gendered, non-disabled or a combination of these) who have been oblivious to their privilege and/or who benefit from things staying the way they are.

A LinkedIn post I shared recently brought into stark relief the ‘universal’ tax on ignorance that only Black and global majority colleagues seem to pay. Read the comments – they'll tell you everything you need to know about the impact of ‘treating everyone the same’.

James Baldwin said it best:

“People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state on innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.”

What else we're reading

🏢 Recent research by the Black Women in Leadership (BWIL) Network reveals the extent of racism faced by Black women in the UK.

Two thirds (68%) of Black women surveyed had experienced racial bias at work, rising to a staggering 84% for those in senior management.

Overall, one third (33%) of Black women professionals reported having resigned due to racially unfair treatment, as did more than half (52%) of those in senior executive positions. BWIL’s research is HERE and Metro coverage HERE

😏We are familiar with white male leaders denying racism - from the 45th US President calling himself “the least racist person” to Boris Johnson in 2020 denying the UK is a racist country and last year Scott Morrison calling Australia the "most successful" multicultural country in the world.

Co-author of Racism in Australia Today Professor Fethi Mansouri shatters such complacency, making clear that Australia's racism is not getting better. I agree with him - if we remain incapable of even talking about the racism in our midst, how will we ever do what’s needed to dismantle it?

😐 Two years on from the murder of George Floyd, how should white people hold their employers to account over pledges on racial justice? Here’s practical advice from Harvard Business Review: Hold your company accountable for racial justice pledges

About Shereen Daniels

Shereen is Author of The Anti-Racist Organization - Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace (Wiley, 2022), founder + Managing Director of HR, anti-racism and racial equity advisory firm, HR rewired and Chair of the African Diaspora Economic Inclusion Foundation that supports Black female entrepreneurs. 

A leading HR influencer, Shereen has become the go-to voice for household brands and international corporations who want to dismantle systemic racism across their workplace cultures and wider ecosystems. As a sought-after speaker and advisor, Shereen’s story has been featured in Forbes, she’s been recognised as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in 2020 and 2022, and is the winner of HR Most Influential Thinker 2021.