As
a Black woman, I am seeing more and more emboldened racism even among
people whom I thought I knew, and at familiar places, like my local
grocer and at my fitness center. I have a pit in my stomach recalling a
recent workout during which two strapping burly white men stared
directly at me as they spoke to each other. I was the only one in their
line of sight. Each time I looked away and then looked back, they were
still staring coldly at me.
For
the first two minutes I thought nothing of it. But as this went on for
about 12 minutes, I found my heart beating faster, I got nervous, and
terrifying thoughts began to run through my head: Do they know what
level in the garage I’m parked on? Do they know what car I drive? Will
they be waiting for me when I leave? While I had no other evidence of
threat, the current environment escalated my sense of fear.
Both
professional and blue-collar employees and leaders have told me that
they worry for their own safety and those of loved ones, even in mundane
activities such as shopping and walking to work. They have seen the
veil of civility slip from some people they’ve known for a long time,
who now treat them more contemptuously. And they worry that coworkers,
subordinates, bosses and company leaders may turn out to be racist, or
inadvertently say something hurtful because they are blithely unaware of
the pain of racism.
At
the most primal level, Black employees fear this: Will the people whom I
think I know so well turn on me if racism and violence erupt again like
it did on January 6?
It’s
not hard to understand why such fear is endemic. Consider that the
Capitol’s attackers included many who are not affiliated with militias
or white supremacy groups and who don’t fit the stereotype of a racist.
They included middle-class, middle-aged accountants, doctors, lawyers,
shop owners, and even CEOs, from blue states and red states, according to a study
by the Chicago Project. People have learned that racists are all around
them — in their extended families, their neighborhoods and even among
their work colleagues.
Black
workers are telling me this existential fear is affecting them at work.
They are exhausted from spending energy managing hurt, pain and fear,
instead of being able to focus on their job duties. They’re not
performing at their best. Many have become apathetic. And in an
increasingly diverse world, chances are that your Black customers,
suppliers, and investors are grappling with these same fears, and
suffering the same crippling effects on mind space and productivity.
CEOs
and other leaders must recognize this problem and address it
competently, because ignoring it is not only morally wrong, it’s also
bad for business.
So
what should company leaders do? First, don’t expect that a change in
Washington will calm things down. A peaceful but narrowly won
presidential transfer of power won’t stop the divisions. It won’t end
the anger from the extreme fringe of the losing side. It won’t
extinguish the threats of political violence or the need to talk about
it, as Tim Ryan, chair of PwC U.S., recently pointed out.
Second,
don’t expect a bold company statement of zero tolerance for racism to
do the trick. If it’s not backed up with a plan and with action, your
employees will see right through it. They will rise up and demand
meaningful action, which is why some companies are working with people
like me.
I advise these leaders to take five actions:
Commit to listening.
I’ve heard Black employees talk about the pain and disappointment they feel because their managers have not said anything about any
subject that’s connected to race — good or bad. They heard nothing even
after basketball star Kobe Bryant, beloved the world over, and eight
others died early last year in a helicopter crash. Black workers went
months in 2020 without having any conversations at work about racism and
violence or hearing any messages from their leaders. They assume their
leaders and coworkers just don’t care or aren’t concerned.
Even
leaders who are caring and concerned don’t know how to begin a
conversation about race. “I don’t want to open Pandora’s box,” one
leader told me. After expressing disgust over the public episodes of
racism, another wondered if the workplace reassurances I urged him to
make would be anything but futile: “Why would I do this?” Another white
CEO, who hosted a town hall after the death of George Floyd, told the
group that she finally understood what it’s like to be a Black worker
after hearing about it from her white colleagues. One Black employee
countered: “We’ve been telling you our story all this time, so what does
my voice mean to you?”
I’ve
hosted more than 100 virtual listening sessions, roundtables, focus
groups, and one-on-one interviews with leaders, as well as separate ones
with employees. The most enlightened CEOs are hosting their own
sessions with employees, customers, shareholders, and other
stakeholders, then taking fast action on the insights they gained.
The
feedback has been a revelation to these executives. A white executive
shared a story of what happened after he sent a heartfelt message
following the death of George Floyd. The executive also invited
employees to contact him with any concerns. One Black employee thanked
him profusely for the message and confided that he walks at night with
his family because he is afraid to walk alone, and nighttime is the only
time he can have company.
Another
leader told me she went home and wept after hearing painful stories
from her employees. “This process has been enlightening for me, because I
lacked the courage and conviction to speak up before now,” she said.
“By not speaking up, I have become a perpetrator by allowing the problem
to persist, especially because I am in a senior leadership position.”
Top
managers must not only be willing to get feedback from all employees,
they also must give people the tools and training they need to continue
these conversations.
Take meaningful action.
Listening
will help develop empathy. That will pave the way for meaningful
actions and standards that help employees, customers, suppliers, and
other stakeholders feel valued and safe.
As an example of what empathy can do, in the fall of 2020 American Express launched a $1 billion initiative
to promote racial and gender equity. AmEx pledged to double its
business with minority-owned U.S. suppliers to $750 million, donate $50
million to nonprofits that serve people of color, and crack down on
racist behavior among its 64,000 employees. In January 2021 at
Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead virtual conference, AmEx CEO Stephen Squeri
told a reporter that his company developed the new program after months
of introspection and listening to his employees and key stakeholder
groups. As the grandson of Italian immigrants who were persecuted
themselves, he said these conversations hit home.
New
policies must address the concerns of Black employees, with the goal of
helping them feel safer and, in the long run, protecting the company’s
brand and business. Everyone will benefit. Be clear about the types of
behaviors and activities that are considered appropriate for all
employees at all levels so that future concerns and prohibited
activities are addressed in a fair, consistent, and timely manner. For
example, make it the norm for employees to speak up without fear of
undue reprisal. Develop policies on the types of conversations and
activities you will allow in the workplace. Share a well-defined process
and policies for employees to confidentially report suspicious
activities and get support if they are feeling unsafe.
Reckon with the past, and change the future.
Just
as the U.S. has grappled with slavery’s role in building the country’s
economic foundations, many leaders — including those at some high-profile companies
— are discovering that their organizations at one time exploited others
or profited from racism and inequality. Today’s leaders will need to
reckon with their racist histories, policies, and actions of the past.
But all leaders must also realize they can no longer be bystanders to
acts of hate and mistrust that proliferate today. “Employees look for
their company to stake out a position, and customers look at what are
the values that you stand for as a company,” AmEx CEO Squeri said at the
Bloomberg conference.
For example, many leading companies including AT&T, JPMorgan Chase, and United Parcel Services suspended campaign contributions
to political leaders who tried to stop the certification of the 2020
election results. And rather than turn a blind eye to racists who may be
among their hosts, Airbnb undertook the deliberate and time-consuming
step of vetting via their Facebook and Twitter presences. It removed
those who espoused racism, according to The Information.
Dig deeply to understand your company’s discriminatory practices.
Leaders
should ask themselves: Whose voice is missing? How diverse is my
workforce? Do my policies make it difficult for people of color to reach
the upper management ranks? Am I giving enough business to
minority-owned stakeholders? Do my products perpetuate racial
stereotypes or reinforce a white standard of beauty or appropriateness?
Am I overlooking people of color in my product lineup and my marketing
efforts?
These
were questions I advised one investment firm to ask itself. Its CEO has
lamented that he wanted to hire more Hispanic advisers, then admitted
he’s not investing in any Hispanic companies.
Several
companies have taken strong steps to address racist overtones in what
they sell, even if it means giving up potentially profitable markets. IBM
announced last June that it is getting out of the facial recognition
business. Unilever, L’Oreal, and Johnson & Johnson are renaming or discontinuing skin care brands that whiten skin, a $6.5 billion market. Quaker Oats has abandoned Aunt Jemima, and other food brands have discontinued mascots that smack of racist images.
Back up your ideals with real money.
Well-known companies and their leaders are redressing racial inequities by committing financial support. Comcast donated $75 million in cash and $25 million in media to a three-year project to promote equality. Apple
launched a $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, focusing
on education, criminal justice reform and economic inequality. Netflix
co-CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patti Quillin, personally donated $120 million to the United Negro College Fund and to Morehouse College and Spelman College, two historically black colleges.
Smaller
companies without the immense resources of Apple or Comcast can take
meaningful action by leveraging their expertise and partnering with
other groups. One company’s government affairs team partnered with
others in their industry to identify and address inequitable laws and
policies in the cities and states where they operate and even on a
national level.
Now
is the time for leaders to give all employees at all levels the
platform to publicly and privately voice their existential fears — and
then allay them. Develop policies, procedures, and practices that
address racism within your company, and commit resources and time to
fighting racism outside of it. And don’t assume that racism’s embers
will die out just because a new president is not stoking the fire.
The
newly unleashed racists among us will continue to be emboldened. All
good companies that want to counteract them must be emboldened too, in
order to protect their people, their reputations, and their business.
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