Thorny path outlines guide for diversity in the workplace
November 15, 2021
This blog was written as part of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Black Lives Matter program initiative. Learn more about the program and corresponding events here.
Business executive Sheryl Sandberg takes a simple view of workplace diversity. The billionaire and philanthropist said, “We are building products that people with very diverse backgrounds use, and I think we all want our company makeup to reflect the makeup of the people who use our products.” And that’s enough said.
In keeping with Sandberg’s work philosophy, diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) in the workplace would be a company priority. That follows in line as a response to the racial unrest in 2020 following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and others. Street protests sprang up around the world as the events fueled the Black Lives Matter movement with growth and acceptance. So, last September, when Glassdoor, a company review website, published its survey about D&I with adult employees and jobseekers, their findings were not surprising. It revealed many survey participants check how companies address D&I, and value those companies that do.
Creating a diverse workplace is an understandable component to the process of a nation with growing multiracial populations. To react otherwise is to deny talent, expertise, and profit-making opportunities. And yet, the current efforts are lacking.
Diversity and Inclusion Strategist La’Wana Harris details several missteps when company management is not supportive of change. In her book, Diversity Beyond Lip Service: a coaching guide for changing bias, Harris writes that these include company management giving a deaf ear to new voices, minority hiring for company “window dressing,” and employees attending an unbiased training workshop without follow-up to pursue the training. Harris explains further in individual stories of failure and success for the cause of D&I, which she concludes needs strong and consistent support from committed company elites—typically, white men—to make the process work. Until then, the path is rocky with an unsteady ride.
An additional problem is the use of microaggressions in the workplace. Microaggressions are identified as “indirect expressions of racism, sexism, ageism, or ableism,” according to a June 2020 article in the Business Insider newspaper. Specifically, the article points out 14 troublesome comments and questions to minorities and others in marginalized groups. For example, the question to an African American woman asking if her hair is “real” may imply her appearance is unprofessional. As a response, the article recommends that question should not be asked and “natural hair, regardless of their ethnicity, should be accepted as professional and workplace-friendly.”
Repeated microaggressions can take a toll and cause stress such as racial trauma. In February 2019, the American Psychological Association published “Uncovering the Trauma of Racism” and identified workplace discrimination as a traumatizing act of racism, and thus, being a form of racial trauma. One book, with a featured booklist of this topic of workplace diversity, focuses on the possible hurt one can face in Right Within: how to heal from Racial Trauma in the Workplace by Minda Harts. She shares from her experiences, and from others, to unpack and expose painful work situations while moving on to heal herself and encourage the reader.
The previously mentioned booklist is “Creating Workplace Diversity.” It features eight library books detailing the goal achieving diversity in the workplace with personal stories, research, challenges, and inspiration.
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This blog was written by Lawrence Turner, adult services librarian at South County Regional Library.