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Events that have unfolded over the past week in the United States have reopened a lot of conversations about racism in our country.

Like many others, I have been reflecting on my whiteness and what role someone like me can play in working to dismantle racism. One thing I kept going back to is how to combat it in the workplace.

As a leader, there are steps you can take to combat racism and better support current and future colleagues of color. These steps will help you create a more inclusive workplace with happier employees and, ultimately, stronger customer relationships.

Keep in mind that I am white, and in this post I am hoping to bring certain issues to light to my fellow white professionals. If you’re also white, I would encourage you to do some additional reading of articles and books by people of color to better understand their perspective and solutions. I have some links to these resources later in the post.

Racism at work still exists in 2020.

Although workplace discrimination is illegal in our country, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) receives hundreds of thousands of complaints each year. Granted, these complaints range from all types of discrimination other than race, such as gender, sexuality, religion, and more. Vox reported in 2018 that of these over 100,000 closed cases, only 18% of workers receive some sort of assistance, such as financial compensation or a change in work conditions. Additionally, race claims are the most commonly filed complaints and have the lowest success rate at just 15%. This is due to the lack of funding and resources available to the EEOC for properly investigating claims. 

Keep in mind that these complaints aren’t always overt threats or racial slurs; workplace discrimination can manifest in more subtle ways as well. Differences in compensation, certain work assignments, or performance reviews can sometimes be examples of discrimination. 

Racial bias exists in terms of what many in our country view as “professional” standards as well. As a white person, what comes to mind when you think of “professional” dress code or speech?

Traditional Western views of professional attire are often built around white appearances: straight, “neat” hair and suits, which excludes minorities with natural hair or dreadlocks, or people that wear hijabs or saris. These implicit biases have deep roots in the history of the American workforce, and cannot be conquered overnight. However, addressing these biases and being more inclusive in dress codes and other workplace policies can be a great start.

Build an inclusive workplace.

I will be honest: creating a workplace that is more inclusive and that celebrates diversity can take some time, and it definitely takes buy-in from multiple leaders and stakeholders of your company. 

Unfortunately I don’t have a simple six-step process for transforming your company’s culture to be more inclusive. I do, however, recommend starting with your company policies, as stated above. Are there any words or phrases that exclude minorities? Even something as simple as making a certain phrase more inclusive will go a long way in making people from more diverse backgrounds feel more welcome in your workplace.

Diversity training with your employees will also help you get on the right track. Look for companies in your area that specialize in this. This will make for a fun and engaging experience for your staff. Plus, it will make them feel more bought-in to you as their employer working to improve the culture of your workplace.

Be open to discussion and—most importantly—listening.

As white people, it’s important now more than ever to sit down with people of color and listen to their stories. Just be mindful that not all people of color will inherently be open to discourse, especially during a traumatic time like this.

However, if you find yourself in a discussion with a person of color, make sure to listen. Don’t feel like you need to respond to every single thing they say with your own experiences. Listening to their stories will help you better understand why building an inclusive and diverse work culture is so important.

Be open to this type of discourse in the workplace as well. Understand that it’s so much easier for white people to ignore or tune out what is happening in the world than it is for a person of color. Make it clear to your colleagues that you are available to lend an open ear and open mind if they want to talk about what has been happening, but don’t single anyone out either.

Do some reading.

Take advantage of any spare time you have to do some research on racism, particularly from black writers and other content creators. Here is a very brief list of things you can dive right into to learn more:

Books

• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• We Can’t Talk About That at Work! by Mary-Frances Winters

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Articles

• The Bias of ‘Professionalism’ Standards by Aysa Gray (June 4, 2019)

• Who Gets to be Afraid in America? by Dr. Ibram X Kendi (May 12, 2020)

Podcasts

• Code Switch by NPR

• 1619 by The New York Times

• No Bad News by Dom Davis

• Strong Black Lead by Tracy Clayton and Netflix

Films/Documentaries

• When They See Us (Available to watch on Netflix)

• Kingdom Men Rising (Available to watch for free on IMDb)

• The Hate U Give (Available to watch on Hulu)

Understand that you may never understand.

Many of the struggles that American people of color face on a daily basis are struggles that we as white people will never experience. This isn’t anything that we should feel guilty about, but that we should acknowledge and accept. 

We also need to recognize that just because we don’t see or feel the pain that they feel, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t valid. In times like this, it’s so important and helpful for all of us to come together to enact change—the type of change that every single one of us can benefit from. 

By creating a workplace that is more culturally diverse and welcoming to people of color, you are doing your part in creating a more level playing field for all Americans. These changes will not happen overnight, but will help make the American workplace leaps and bounds better than it was yesterday, which is progress to be celebrated.

Special thanks to my friend Dom Davis of the No Bad News podcast for reviewing this post for accuracy.