As Ms Smith at PA says: “We have a responsibility to ensure staff feel safe sharing frank and honest reflections without fear of recrimination. At PA Housing we have found setting up listening events to be really helpful here.”
Sovereign, for example, tells us that “a group of employees met in June to share their stories of working at Sovereign. In July that group formed the Caribbean, Asian and African Network (CAAN)”. CAAN then helped shape a race action plan for the 59,517-home association. The landlord has assigned its chief financial officer, Tracey Barnes, as the ‘sponsor’ for this programme at executive board level, and CAAN members now meet with her once a month.
Not all of the sessions focus on the experiences of Black staff and racism. Cym D’Souza, chief executive of Arawak Walton and chair of BME National, points out: “Creating a welcoming, truly diverse organisation actually needs to look at the white culture that exists within these organisations and how this has the potential to exclude those from other backgrounds. So my view is that this is about organisations challenging their own cultures and how inclusive they are, rather than seeking the views of minority ethnic staff, LGBTQ+ staff or staff with disabilities.”
At PA, Ms Smith has held weekly 15-minute Zoom sessions, open to all colleagues, to address white privilege. “The sessions are interactive workshops that are open to all, and people are given a series of everyday scenarios and asked to hold up all their hands and put a finger down if they have experienced any of the situations described,” she explains.
“For example, put a finger down if you have ever been verbally abused due to your race; and put a finger down if you have ever been stopped or detained by the police for no clear reason. The skin colour of the participants with the least fingers still waving in the air by the end of the session demonstrates how different the experiences of Black and minority ethnic and white colleagues often are.
Fast forward to February 2021, and Ms Smith is still determined that talking things out is the way to go.
“For me, the last few months have been painful at times – but they’ve also made me more determined to do what I can to make the situation better, starting by talking more openly with my colleagues about issues surrounding race,” she says.
The proof of the pudding, though, will be in what changes come next.
As Steve Douglas, chief executive of St Mungo’s, says: “We know that success is when our organisation fully reflects the diversity of the clients we work with and the communities where we work, at all levels of the organisation.”
