As communications, marketing and HR professionals, we operate at the heart of an organisation. We have the power to effect real change and it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that the businesses we serve are truly inclusive and reflective of the world we live in.

This short curation of resources is a starting point to help each other to understand and discuss anti-racism in the workplace and consider the changes businesses must make to create truly inclusive workplaces.

We’ll continue to update this page with useful information and perspectives as we find them. If you have any resources you’d like to add, then we are all ears. Please email connie.berry@unitedcultureco.com or alys.oneill@unitedcultureco.com.

‍

How to build an anti-racist workplace

 Here are some resources to help take practical steps towards fundamental change in your organisation:

• How to build an actively anti-racist workplace – an article from Quartz at Work on how big corporates can take action to become anti-racist.

• ‍Diversity and inclusion in the workplace – a factsheet from CIPD exploring how to build diversity and inclusion into your business strategy (includes further reading links).
  

• Toward a racially just workplace – a deep dive from Harvard Business Review examining how diversity efforts are failing black employees, as well as actionable steps to address these issues on a company-wide scale.‍

• Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter - five principal calls to action for leaders and organisations across all sectors, encouraging signatories to take practical steps to ensure their workplaces are tackling barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression and that their organisations are representative of British society today.

• ‍The 10 Commitments Companies Must Make to Advance Racial Justice – guidance from Harvard Business Review outlining considerations for how to achieve racial equality in the workplace.‍

• We must step up for Black people right now – here’s how – a piece for Forbes.com by Sheree Atcheson, Diversity & Inclusion leader at Monzo, on what businesses can do right now to prioritise racial equality.‍

• There are zero black women leading Fortune 500 companies right now. Here's how company culture can be sculpted to change that – an article from Business Insider sharing insights from three black professionals on why company culture must shift to achieve equitable representation both in the workforce and at the C-suite level.

• How to manage your team in times of political trauma – actionable steps by Awaken for Medium on how to be inclusive and equity-conscious leaders in the wake of political trauma.  

Perspectives on the impact of racism on Black colleagues

By seeking out and listening to the experiences of Black colleagues, we can begin to gain a better understanding of the impact of racism in the workplace and beyond. Here’s a snapshot of perspectives we’ve been learning from:

• First I was numb, then came the sadness, anger and frustration. This is what it’s like to be Black. – a piece by communications leader (and UC Voices interviewee) Jennifer Thomas for Poppulo on the important role of storytelling in driving positive change.‍

• Black employees need support right now, we’re tired – a blog by Tonte Bo Douglas for the Black Young Professionals network on how companies can support their Black employees. ‍

• Maintaining professionalism in the age of Black death is… a lot – a piece by Shenequa Golding for Medium on how your Black employees are really feeling right now.

• 3 things you should not say to your Black colleagues right now – a piece by career coach Adunola Adeshola for Forbes on how to lend your support through empathy and action.
  ‍ 

Learn more about anti-racism, diversity and inclusion

While our resource list focuses on building inclusive cultures and anti-racism in the workplace, there are plenty of resources available online and on social media providing a broader understanding of what it means to be anti-racist and supportive of diversity and inclusion in all parts of life.

We have shared a brief list of resources and organisations below that individuals in our team have recommended, but we encourage you to research further.

• The difference between being "not racist" and anti-racist – a conversation with Ibram X. Kendi about the concept of anti-racism and its role in uprooting injustice and inequality in the world.‍

• Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race – an extract for the Guardian from Reni Eddo-Lodge’s book of the same title.‍‍

• Where does diversity and inclusion go from here? - A thoughtful conversation between June Sarpong OBE and the brilliant Unmistakables team about how we can right wrongs through business and society and where we go next with diversity and inclusion.

• ‍Black Lives Matter – a global organisation fighting to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. ‍

• Runnymede Trust – the UK’s leading independent race equality think tank. See also this section on Employment and Economy.‍

• Show Racism the Red Card – the UK's leading anti-racism educational charity.‍

• Stand Against Racism and Inequality (SARI) – a service user/community-oriented agency that provides support and advice to victims of hate and promotes equality and good relations between people with protected characteristics as defined by law.‍

• Stop Hate UK – an organisation working alongside local strategic partnerships to tackle Hate Crime and discrimination,encourage reporting and support the individuals and communities it affects.  ‍

• Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust – a charity working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice.
  

• Stand Up to Racism UK – an organisation campaigning against racism, fascism, Islamophobia and antisemitism.
  
  

‍