Black History Month originated in 1926 when Carter G Woodson launched Negro History Week in USA, which later became Black History Month, marked for February. Carter specifically chose February to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's birthday, the president who 'freed the slaves'.
Black History Month in UK was launched in 1987 - a campaign led by Akyaaba Addai Sebbo who worked for Greater London Council at the time. GLC selected October as the Black History Month to coincide with the Marcus Garvey* celebrations and London Jubilee.
From the London boroughs, the interest in Black History Month soon spread to other cities. Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham actively participated in promoting and publicising its philosophy.
The aims of Black History Month are to:
- Promote knowledge of the Black History, Culture and Heritage
- Disseminate information on positive Black contributions to British Society
- Heighten the confidence and awareness of Black people to their cultural heritage
Black History Month fundamentally highlights the history and contributions of Black communities and Black individuals, past and present. Although the debate continues whether the month should be exclusive in promoting only the African and Caribbean contributions, the celebrations in UK have to date continued to include all 'Black' Minority Ethnic communities and therefore the term Black is used in the generic sense. School especially take part in Black History Month, in fact October was allocated to coincide with the start of the academic year. 'I really love Black History Month,' enthused 15-year-old Isaac Kwasi whose London school put on a special concert to mark the event. 'To me it's like [Notting Hill] carnival when you are on the centre stage and can be proud to be black.
‘2020 has held a mirror up to the world and forced many to see the reality of racism’ – Catherine Ross guest editor of Black History Month 2020
Events in 2020
- Worldwide demonstrations in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died whist stopped by the policy in America
- Black Lives Matter demonstrations to call for an end to systemic racism, unfair treatment experienced by people due to the colour of their skin
- Premier League footballers went on one knee to show solidarity to the movement.
- Removal of statutes of white men who played a pivotal role in the slave trade
- Concerns around COVID and its impact specifically to Black. Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities
- Consideration given to include black representation in school curriculum
- Four post-boxes have been painted black to honour black Britons including Sir Lenny Henry, (Presenter/ Comedian), Mary Seacole (Pioneering Nurse), Walter Tull (footballer) A QR code on the post-boxes brings up a list of black people who have appeared on special stamps
However, it has been argued that Black History Month has become a readymade excuse to ignore African history for the other 11 months of the year. Further Journalists argue that by dedicating only a single month of the year, it provokes a tendency to assume that black history is separate from American/British History. Schools are now taking proactive measures to include the concept of black history as opposed to allocating one month per year.
Joseph Wayne states that "One month out of every year, Americans are given permission to commemorate the achievements of black people. This rather condescending view fails to acknowledge that a people and a country's past should be nurtured and revered; instead, at this time, the past of black Americans is handled in an expedient and cavalier fashion denigrating the very people it seeks to honour"
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots - Marcus Garvey
"Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden..." - Marcus Garvey
"The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is mightier than them both put together." - Marcus Garvey
If you would like more details or to have a chat about how we can help your organisations please get in touch
Snéha Khilay
Managing Director
Blue Tulip Consultancy
hello@bluetulipconsultancy.com
Inspired by the famous Gandhi quote, “be the change you want to see in the world”,
A number of organisations seem to give the impression that they have made significant efforts to recruit and retain staff from a black and minority background, through their war for talent processes. The ideology being that this initiative aims to help ensure a steady supply of trained, competent staff with a level playing field between staff at all levels. However in a survey conducted by Harvey Nash Engage Network, representing leaders from all ethnic backgrounds, findings show that seven out of ten (71%) have experienced discrimination in their career indicating that they have had to work even harder to reach board level or the most senior positions. Given that improving diversity requires commitment from the very top of an organisation, the research points to a lack of action from the CEO and board, with over half (52%) of respondents believing that CEOs and leadership teams do not see the business benefits of diversity to the bottom line despite numerous academic and other studies such as McKinsey's Diversity Matters.
There is value in setting up processes to tackle the current imbalance, particularly at more senior levels. However the resistance by some leaders who believe that by specifically targeting black and minority groups and putting in place special measures to extend their professional development, competence and leadership skills is inadvertently creating a notion of segregation, a concept of ‘them and us’. Judy Ryde in her book ‘Being White in the Helping Professions’ advocates that the arena of ‘equal opportunities’ had tended to encourage a reliance on ‘politically correct’ notions which leads to a prescribed way of thinking and acting. Agreeing with Ryde’s principles, fundamentally the question is; how can leaders adopt, adapt and improve to enable black and minority ethnic staff to achieve their potential as senior managers and leaders? Note the change in stance from what to how. Are organisations wasting talent through their biases as opposed to giving a message to their BME colleagues of; we want you to feel valued and know that you are valuable?
Having led training programmes on professional leadership and development specifically for black and minority ethnic staff over recent years, aptly titled ‘Finding Your Mojo’, it is apparent that these sessions have consistently had huge, positive impact on the personal and professional lives of the participants concerned. Typical course elements resulting in this positive outcome include effective communication and presentation skills, goal setting, managing limiting beliefs (and unconscious biases) and the value of raising one’s profile.
These programmes 'allow' for empathy and good humour of fellow participants and understanding of the difficulties / obstacles encountered. In some instances staff from a BME background feel better able to discuss these difficulties, saying that they would feel anxious and vulnerable in discussing these with work colleagues, the perception being, that, in sharing their difficulties (with colleagues), they might be seen as 'unable to cope under pressure'. The programme gives participants the space to talk and just be, whilst establishing clear cut boundaries, it was not a whinge zone fest, instead, the focus is on taking responsibility for change and developing a skill set to succeed.
Rita, a 43 -year-old woman attended one of these course and initially battled with angst as she did not think she had any skills - she had been ‘plodding on with life’, focusing on her role as office manager. During the programme, Rita became more confident and was able to acknowledge (with pride) of her current skills set. Having worked through her limiting beliefs, Rita assertively asked her organisation to support her so she could do a postgraduate course and work at the same time. She is now a Director at the same company and has written a chapter in a management book. Rita claims that her loyalty to the organisation is fundamental and has valued the support.
CT, another participant - sheepishly – confessed on day 2 of the course, having been asked to be accountable for submitting 2 job applications, that he has been offered a job as Head of his service. There was an electrifying response to this from the group. Other participants have greater confidence in setting boundaries, often seeking out an internal mentor who can support their ongoing career and professional development as well as management competence. Overall, there are very few participants - I have yet to meet one - who regrets attending a personal development programme or feels they've not benefited from such a valuable opportunity to re-focus on their career aspirations.
Organisations who have made the effort to reflect on and evaluate their staff from black and minority ethnic background and their experiences have had important insights into how well it ‘does difference’ in all aspects of the organisational structure. By focusing in the areas of recruitment, retention, promotion, development, there is a better understanding of how equality is managed and implemented. At the practical level, the organisation reap benefits not only through the reduced costs of less formal grievances; there is a greater tendency for staff to apply for promotion or further professional qualification after attending a personal effectiveness training programme. By maximising employee potential, it has a direct impact on employee and organisation effectiveness, productivity and profitability. It is more cost effective to maintain and develop a satisfied employee than to hire a new staff member. On occasions, it is worth spending thousands to make millions.
Blue Tulip Consultancy runs Finding Your Mojo, professional development programmes for black and minority ethnic aspiring managers and leaders. The programme, spread over 5 months, includes workshops, action learning sets, input from guest speakers and one to one coaching sessions.
If you would like more details or to have a chat about how we can help your organisations please get in touch at hello@bluetulipconsultancy or visit www.bluetulipconsultancy.com
Snéha Khilay
Managing Director
hello@bluetulipconsultancy.com
www.bluetulipconsultancy.com
Inspired by the famous Gandhi quote, “be the change you want to see in the world”,
With the recent media coverage of sexual harassment, negative, hostile behaviour towards women at work is generally deemed as overt sexism, even abuse and therefore unacceptable. However, the subtle and no less insidious sexism continues to fester in the background. There are comments and behaviours, whether made by men or women, that devalue women. An exercise used in training courses titled 'Acceptable Continuum', provides statements that are to be categorised as either 'acceptable' or 'unacceptable'. There are concerns where in some instances participants become indignant that comments such 'I am going through a blond moment'* or referring to women as 'girls' is generally considered 'unacceptable'. This indignation is often verbalised by comments along the lines of 'This is PC gone mad', 'We are walking on an eggshell culture', 'I can't say anything now??' etc.
There is a tendency in some instances for colleagues to use certain but subtly negative language patterns, either out of habit or because it has become unconsciously ingrained into office culture and banter, that it becomes acceptable. This lack of awareness or perception that, if no harm is intended by these comments, no one should be offended. It is worth pointing out that these kinds of every day subtleties, with their 'drip drip' effect, are damaging and detrimental to how women are perceived and therefore treated.
In other instances, colleagues find that when women make comments of ‘I must have gone through a blond moment', this seems to give some men the freedom and permission to make disparaging comments about women, albeit in jest. Some of these comments made by men were along the lines of 'That was good work... for a woman', 'Can you be Mummy and organise lunch for the next Senior Management Team meeting? (made to a female member of the SMT), 'I am surprised that you managed to do the project given your child care responsibilities....', 'here comes the handbag brigade’; the list goes on. It is apparent that sexist humour, which is really the denigration of women through humour, trivialises the unpleasant reality of sex discrimination behind a smokescreen of harmless banter and implies that, when sexist language is presented as humour or in jest, it is to be viewed as acceptable and considered a bonding ritual between colleagues.
Take this real example of a senior management meeting which was also attended by two newly appointed directors. The chair of the meeting (a man) introduced the new female director with a detailed background about her family; she had three daughters, was a PTA member and attended a book club. In contrast the male director’s professional qualifications and professional accomplishments were highlighted. It was also telling that the chair even introduced the female member with 'I would like to welcome the beautiful Jackie* to the Board'. This type of subtle sexism leaves some observers feeling uncomfortable but not entirely sure about what. However, the real danger lies in it being possible to see the comment as normal and acceptable. Further, the Chair could even argue that he was complimenting Jackie. It later became apparent that Jackie had similar professional qualifications and accomplishments to those of her male counterpart; this was not mentioned at the meeting.
Various studies* reveals that sexist jokes and gender stereotype are some of the main factors in holding women back from thriving at work. The hard-to-detect comments can have an insidious effect, which over time is profound enough for women to start conforming to the stereotypes instead of focusing on their career advancement. Research findings show some common subtle incidents occurring on average 2-5 times a week. These include:
The studies show that, in response to the subtle sexist comments and attitudes, women have been known to perform poorly on cognitive tests. Further, they express feelings of incompetence and even greater dissatisfaction with their work-related performance.
Fundamentally, it is important for all of us to be aware that, whilst we have made huge strides in moving away from explicitly negative and sexually inappropriate behaviour, subtle comments and remarks considered to be innocuous, are damaging and help maintain the ripple-like effect of discrimination against women. We need to be more aware of subtle sexism in the workplace, the need to move away from stereotypes and to place a greater focus on treating people as individuals and not labelling them with the group that they represent.
* 'I am going through a blond moment'. Term usually made by a woman to imply that she had forgotten to do something, is a scatterbrain or is being silly or stupid. The term is used as a get out clause, a public persona of how 'vulnerably dumb' a woman is. 1990s: from the stereotypical perception of blonde-haired women as unintelligent.
** Melbourne Business School, Australia, Pennsylvania State University USA and Philipps University Germany
There is a degree of cynicism as to whether training programmes on diversity and unconscious bias, together with ad hoc mentoring programmes help resolve concerns linked to inclusivity in the workplace. As a diversity consultant, I interact with senior leaders who claim inclusive leadership as one of their organisational values. Yet, when I probe further, they sheepishly acknowledge that they don’t really know what this means but need to pretend that they do.
For the lay
person, what does ‘inclusive leadership’ mean in practice?
Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly (Harvard Business Review Sept 2013) surveyed
24 CEOs worldwide, who headed organisations with good reputations for embracing
people from different backgrounds. The
common theme identified was threefold, firstly ensuring inclusivity was a
personal mission to the CEOs. Secondly,
diversity was a business imperative; as a source of creativity and innovation. And finally, inclusivity was a moral imperative
linked to their personal experiences and values.
In parallel, organisations who value inclusive leadership also recognise that, when employees feel acknowledged and therefore valued, there is better customer service providing a reputational (and therefore business) edge. Equally, other research (Opportunity Now) found that 80% of those who had worked with an inclusive leader were more motivated, productive, loyal to the organisation and more likely to go the extra mile.
In my previous employment, one of the managers I regarded most highly was a progressive, inclusive leader. He set clear standards and did not expect us to work beyond 5 pm. He also supported all staff in managing our time effectively with child care and other personal arrangements. My manager was well respected and employee retention was at its highest level due to this approach. In response, there was a strong commitment to work and we all worked effectively as a team, willing to undertake additional tasks when required.
A question often asked is that, whilst there is the recognition of the benefits of inclusive leadership, how does it translate into practice? Over the years I have provided consultancy support to leaders from various sectors, both public and corporate and in line with some of the research conducted at a global level, there are some themes which are conducive to developing inclusive leadership practice. These can form part of an action plan for organisations to consider, aligned with a value statement of ‘no excuses, only excellence’. As Martin Luther King put it, ‘If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way’.
Leaders do set a clear definition of what is meant by an inclusive culture, embraced within the organisation culture. Grosberg and Connolly defined this as ‘one in which employees can contribute to the success of the company as their true selves whilst the organisation respects and leverages their talents which gives them a sense of connectedness’.
Leadership
agility – an ability to adapt behaviour to take into consideration colleagues’
different and cultural perspectives and experiences. Through this process, to develop effective
communication skills to understand, influence and motivate. A senior leader that I worked with told me he
regularly held one-to-one meetings with all his staff, adapting his
communication style to the individual. Through
this process he was better able to understand not only their career aspirations,
he was able to take preventative action to address concerns raised, which led
to huge saving particular in relation to managing problems at an early stage.
Leaders who are aware of their own biases and preferences, actively seek out and consider different views and perspectives, taking responsibility for recognising and correcting unconscious biases in informal / formal processes, language patterns and behaviours. Some leaders value diverse teams, recognising that although it takes longer to make decisions, it is worth the investment as decisions are robust and easier to implement. In parallel, senior management teams take responsibility for ensuring that staff are clear of their responsibilities within an inclusive workplace culture.
Essentially, for inclusive leadership to become best practice, embedded throughout an organisation, it has to be at the heart of the organisation rather than seen as the latest fad, a tokenistic gesture sugar coated through potential rather than actual equal opportunities. Inclusive Leadership is about hard work, clear thinking and collective effort. As Steve Redgrave said when competing for the Olympics ‘It's not always a bed of roses, but the blend of characters makes the strength of the team'.