One and All
One and All – the debate on ethnic diversity
What do we truly think?
It is clear that the vast majority of senior business executives do not believe that racial discrimination is prevalent and that employees are genuinely judged on merit regardless of origin. The most common comment that we have received has been “I never judge anyone on either the colour of the skin or their origin; only on their talent, passion and commitment.” There is no doubt that most
believe that this is to be absolutely true but the other clear fact that has emerged is that ethnic employees do not see the same picture. Statistics, too, support the picture outlined by ethnic employees.
However, let’s firstly accept and assume that the above comment is true. This then raises a number of questions:
a. Has the message that the industry wants to promote and develop all talent regardless of origin been effectively communicated?
b. Does corporate work culture encourage ethnic talent?
c. Have we done enough to show that we “walk the talk”?
d. How regularly are ethnic candidates interviewed by board directors?
Feedback from senior executives suggest that the answers to these four questions are not overly relevant, but why then the two very different pictures?
One common question that has been posed over the past two months has been “is this really worth debating? Surely it will happen on merit and could fuel greater
prejudice?” I think this debate is immensely important. How can we talk about the need to attract talent when significant groupings feel as discussed above? One of the reasons that London won the 2012 bid was because of the diverse society that could be displayed. No one is stating that the industry is not recruiting ethnic talent - in fact, the statistics in this area are very good. The debate is
about the development of ethnic talent. The core question is whether it is harder - perceived or real - for an ethnic manager to progress than a white manager?
The UK hospitality industry has become a world-class player. Its achievements over the past twenty years have been very impressive. It would, therefore, be good to see the industry also take a leadership role in an issue as complex and sensitive as this one. But how? A concerted communications campaign could be patronising. There is evidence that suggests that a positive discrimination strategy does not actually improve the situation. So what do we do?
The reality is that we do need to be aware of the issue and to consider it. Have we really given it enough thought? Have we considered how ethnic employees view the work environment? In all honesty, it is private “off the record” discussions with black and Asian managers which have opened my eyes to the fact that we need to look at this issue in a far more considered fashion. Before we launched this discussion, my first reaction was that there is no real problem. But the reality is that there is. That statistics tell us this clearly and if we are honest, so do our eyes. If key communities believe that they are not given the opportunity for advancement on a fair basis, there is a problem that does require consideration.
This text is extracted from the article in the latest edition of En Passant – October 2007.
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