From a purely business point of view, I can’t tell you how despondent I become whenever there’s a ‘month’ where social media tells us to raise awareness of something in terms of equality, inclusivity and diversity. When this is done with integrity and congruence, it is wonderful, yet often I feel that these things are a PR exercise for a business, as opposed to a demonstration of the intrinsic values that are held and promoted by an organisation across the year.
In June, for example, it was Pride Month. A month where businesses big and small shared things on social media regarding how open-minded and virtuous they are in their attitudes towards and support of the LBGTQ community (and so they should). Yet, a brief look at LinkedIn this morning and those posts have virtually run dry, so I am left curious as to whether this support and allyship continues for the other 11 months of the year? I’d love to know.
Now, I appreciate that this may sound pretty cynical and perhaps even closed-minded – especially considering what I do for a living – yet the fact that I’m an advocate for diversity, inclusion, equity and positive change in the workplace is precisely the reason why I feel irritated and despondent when in one month my newsfeed is filled with support and yet the following month these communications virtually disappear.
For me, my desire is that I’d rather see businesses saving the time, money and energy that goes into feeding the PR machine, and instead invested the time, money and energy into creating truly inclusive and diverse workplaces, where a balanced boardroom (and indeed a balanced business) is a year-round normality, rather than a tick box exercise in aid of a monthly awareness day/month. In addition, if money is going to be spent on social media I’d love to hear and read about the struggles that businesses have faced in their quest for equality, equity, inclusivity and allyship. By sharing the ‘messy’ stuff, they can be a true inspiration to other businesses that are trying to make changes but are hitting barriers along the way. It’s time that this learning is aired and shared. Allyship is no walk in the park. It’s messy. We screw up (I screw up), and when we share our lessons, others can also learn (and unlearn) from them.
There are many investments that a business or individual can make to build awareness and turn it into action. There are books to read, training that can be undertaken, documentaries and movies to watch, podcasts to listen to… I advise all of my clients to seek out knowledge and apply it to their life (and not just in the office). It’s a worthy investment of time and resources*.
I know, I know, you may be calling me cynical here, but I do acknowledge that there will be some businesses that are wonderfully diverse and inclusive, where diversity is completely the norm for them (please get in touch if you are one of these) and I specifically work with businesses to make sure that more organisations and employers are in this very position.
Businesses I work with will inevitably spend time, energy and resources (internally and externally) to celebrate a ‘month’. However, the efforts and investments are vastly outweighed by internal activity as opposed to external. The reality is that if your business is truly diverse and inclusive, your employees will be your authentic PR machine.
October sees us celebrating Black History Month, and, rightly so. Yet, here’s some food for thought – why not use October to celebrate Black History AND to share what you and your business is proactively doing (all year round) to be anti-racist, and what part you’re actively playing as an organisation to ensure that we collectively are accountable for making racism part of our history (rather than a present-day reality). I’d love to read all of those posts – so share away!
And, next time your business posts something on diversity, equity or inclusion, in the spirit of awareness, ask yourself, ‘Are we taking or inspiring any action from doing this?’ or ‘Are we doing it to look good?’.
Until then, if national months and days are generally your thing, let me help you out. Today is ‘International Day of Clean Air’ – an estimated seven million people worldwide die from diseases related to unclean air each year. Racism, homophobia, sexism, islamophobia and other forms of discrimination, marginalisation and oppression are also pollutants and add to the toxicity of the air we breathe. These also kill millions of people a year – so, head outside, take a deep breath and ask yourself how are you going to help to eliminate the toxicity in the world so we can all breathe better?
*Whilst on the topic of resources (and as a shameless plug), you could read my book, or take a look at my ‘Liberate’ programme over in the School of MsChief. Yes, I spelt that correctly. I’ll warn you though, the work I do with clients isn’t a quick fix or a two-hour training session you can do half-heartedly over a soggy salad sandwich at lunch. It’s an experiential learning opportunity, whereby you’ll unlearn as much as you’ll learn.
Photo by Alexis Fauvet on Unsplash7 September 2021