Written by Christopher Owen; Inclusivity Development Manager, Manchester Pride (April 2023)

What’s the Point of Workplace Inclusion?

Workplace equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has become an increasingly prioritised area across every sector and industry in the UK. Businesses and organisations are realising the social and financial benefits of ensuring all staff, no matter their identity, feel supported and accepted by their employer. In theory, these endeavours should create a more equal world for all. But in practice, despite over sixty years of workplace inclusion initiatives in this country, the landscape for marginalised workers is still bleak.

For example, the unemployment rate for people of colour is almost twice as high as those from white backgrounds. There is still a gender pay gap of over 5%, which goes up to 26-31% for women of colour. 27% of disabled people are currently living in poverty. And 18% of LGBTQ+ people have experienced discrimination when seeking employment and/or while in the workplace with 10% of queer people of colour having been physically attacked in the workplace (source).

One of the key issues is that there is no consensus on what the purpose of workplace inclusion should be. Is it to protect the organisation from lawsuits? Is it to appeal to a wider market of socially conscious customers? Is it to capitalise on the new ideas of a diverse team’s alternative viewpoints? Or is it to genuinely ensure that all people have equal access to opportunities and to create a culture where everyone can belong?

What’s Going Wrong?

Without a concrete goal in mind, many workplace EDI agendas risk becoming ‘tick-box exercises’ that give the impression of acceptance without actually creating any real change for marginalised staff. For example, an organisation may put on an internal event celebrating Black History Month or Pride Month, but their policies and procedures will fail to meet the particular needs of POC or LGBTQ+ staff. For many, inclusion has become an abstract concept, removed from the lived experiences of real marginalised people and the practical needs for supporting their wide-scale liberation.

This approach results in several common issues.

Here are just a few:

• Inclusion initiatives are rarely monitored for success, often because they do not have any specific indicators of what they are trying to achieve. Budget and time will continue to be wasted if the organisation solely relies on anecdotal feedback or (often overly polite) survey responses to measure value.

• Equality training will often inform staff of what the law says about harassment, bullying and discrimination, but does not always provide practical advice on working with diverse groups. This can create a real fear of getting things wrong and many staff will struggle to engage positively with customers, clients and colleagues from different social groups.

• Diversity targets rarely account for retention or progression, failing to consider the importance of diverse leadership. There are many organisations that will promote that they have a diverse workforce without acknowledging that the majority of their leadership are from historically privileged groups, and their marginalised staff are in the lowest paid, least secure positions.

• Belonging within an organisation is often framed as a ‘cultural fit,’ but not enough energy or thought is invested in how the UK’s dominant culture is designed to exclude non-normative groups, in turn making it nearly impossible for many marginalised staff to ‘fit’ comfortably within most workplace cultures.

With all of the above, many workplace EDI endeavours actually create barriers for marginalised staff to access opportunities and achieve the same levels of success as their colleagues from historically privileged social groups. Without addressing our society’s (often invisible) structural issues, the result of many workplace EDI initiatives is that marginalised staff will be told that they are included and then will be blamed (and punished) when they struggle to meet the same standards as their privileged peers.

In order for workplace EDI endeavours to succeed in creating a more equal world for all, businesses and organisations should reflect on the effectiveness of their current approaches and the value of trying something new.

A New Approach

The best place to start is to ask the very simple question: what is the root cause of inequality and exclusion? Alternatively: what is the actual problem workplace EDI endeavours should address?

The answer: systemic oppression.

Systemic oppression is a holistic term that refers to the way a society’s institutions and ideologies work together to make some people’s access to opportunities easier than for other people.

These opportunities vary, and may include anything from having your identity respected, to getting the career success you’ve worked for, to feeling healthy and safe in your community.

It determines how easily you can access things like education, housing, healthcare and social mobility. So systemic oppression is not just about the bigotry of individuals, it’s also an institutional, social, political, economical, psychological and material issue as well.

Furthermore, systems of oppression are intersectional, meaning they create unique issues and further harms for those with multiple marginalised identities.

For example, women of colour experience additional forms of oppression that white women and Black men do not experience. Thus, we cannot achieve true liberation for one group without achieving it for all other groups as well.

At present, many workplace EDI initiatives could do more to address systems of oppression and intersectionality. Otherwise, many marginalised groups may just feel assimilated into an unchanged, oppressive system. This will never lead to true inclusion.

In order to do more with your workplace EDI endeavours, addressing intersectional systemic oppression, here are a few practical suggestions:

• Create mentorship programmes that support the recruitment and progression of marginalised individuals into opportunities they have historically struggled to access.
  

• Train your staff in conscious inclusion with practical guidance on working in a diverse team. Pair this with a workplace culture that celebrates the valuable skills and insights of each member of staff from across every background and then promote inter-group teamwork and collaboration.
  

• Shape your EDI agenda by engaging directly with intersectionally diverse communities, creating authentic and meaningful relationships through endeavours such as staff volunteering initiatives, fundraising drives or by collaborating on a project with a local charity.
  

• Promote the importance of intersectional anti-oppression to your partners, suppliers, networks and across your sector. Be a leader in setting new standards for EDI best practice in your industry.

By reallocating our resources and restructuring our systems, we can achieve incredible, meaningful change to not only our workplaces, but to our society as a whole, creating a world where everyone has equal access to opportunities and where anyone can thrive.

How the All Equals Charter can Help

Creating authentic, meaningful change for your employees can be difficult without the required expertise in anti-oppression and the systemic issues facing your local marginalised communities. To help you implement this level of inclusion, Manchester Pride has developed the All Equals Charter, an intersectional workplace inclusion
programme.

The All Equals Charter is a positive, safe space for businesses and organisations to grow and learn. Supported by Manchester Pride’s team, featuring expertise in systemic oppression and on-the-ground engagement with marginalised communities, Charter members have access to specialist knowledge to develop and adapt everything from policies and procedures, to training and educating staff.

Accreditation allows businesses and organisations to indicate to employees, clients and suppliers that they meet a set of values and principles of intersectional inclusion.

Working closely with Manchester Pride’s All Equals Charter team, businesses and organisations can continually improve and reassess at any time.

To learn more about the All Equals Charter, click here.