Seventy percent of black workers reported feeling neglected because of their identity. 66% of Asian descent and 65% of those identified as LGBTQ + also had the same experience. The “worrying” findings, from a study by the Chartered Management Institute, suggest that UK employers may speak out on public promises to promote equality and diversity, making workplace participation an “illusion” two years after the protests. of Black Lives Matter. Workers identified as LGBTQ + also experienced greater harassment and intimidation. One-third of those polled – equivalent to 6.9 million people – said they had been treated less favorably, received hostile, derogatory or negative behaviors and comments, or had been harassed or intimidated by their identities. The CMI warned that the data showed “complacency in UK agencies that is an obstacle to future financial performance and organizational success”. Direct and indirect discrimination at work on the grounds of race is almost always illegal. A separate analysis of pay rates by the Economics Observatory showed that blacks, Pakistanis and Bangladeshi women have lower wages than white women, and the pay gap was higher in 2019 than 25 years earlier. The pay gap is even greater among men and worsens for blacks, Bangladeshis and Pakistani men. A CMI study of more than 2,000 employees found that 23% of typical UK employees said they had experienced hostile, derogatory or negative behavior at work, but this increased to 29% for people of Asian descent, 34% for people with a black background and 36.% among those identified as LGBTQ +. People with disabilities were also more likely to experience such behaviors (34%) and one third said they had been harassed and intimidated compared with 22% for regular UK employees. “Progress is obvious but painfully slow,” said Ann Francke, chief executive of CMI. “We can not afford to wait two generations to use all our available talent given the economic, social and environmental challenges we face. “Employers and managers need to go much further than talking about equality, diversity and inclusion, and committing themselves to tackling the inequalities that exist.” Daniella Genas, who founded She’s The Boss, a business support service, said she believes issues such as her hairstyle contributed to a situation where she lost her job while on a part-time contract with an IT company in Birmingham. He said: “I used to wear my hair in many different natural styles and my contract was not renewed, and I remember the people on my team were upset, like ‘it doesn’t make sense’. “And I remember the last day, when I straightened my hair, just by chance, and the lady who had chosen not to extend my contract said, ‘Oh, your hair looks very nice. It’s a pity you didn’t do it like that before, maybe it would have turned out differently here “. He said it was “exhausting” to face such discrimination and said that although the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 raised awareness of such systemic racist prejudices and “organizations recognize that we need to see them do something, this is not reflected internally”. “. Kasim Choudhry leads the Multicultural Apprenticeship Alliance. He said that not drinking as an obstacle to development. Photo: Chartered Management Institute Kasim Choudhry, 33, who heads the Multicultural Apprenticeship Alliance, which helps companies hire more diverse apprentices, said he felt isolated when his colleagues in a previous corporate finance job went to a pub to drink after work. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST “If you drink with your manager [after work] and another person goes home after work, who will get the promotion? ” he said. He said efforts to understand people from different communities needed to be extended beyond corporate human resources departments to all levels of organizations. “People in this country are still asking questions about Ramadan like ‘Do you not eat for a month?’ he said. “It’s just ignorance.” Matthew Fell, policy director for the CBI Employers’ Organization, said: “In a healthy and productive workplace, it is essential that all employees feel they have an equal chance of progressing and achieving – and not be constrained by prejudice or prejudice. The ethical and business premise for greater diversity and inclusion is waterproof. Different companies perform better. ”
