OCTOBER: BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black History Month 2020

Black History Month 2020 is more important than ever this year.

Black people have always made history and always will – but it’s equally important that Black people take the lead on how that history is discovered, explored, researched, recorded, archived, curated, exhibited and shared. That means supporting Black-led heritage organisations and professionals; making national and local institutions much more accessible and representative; and empowering communities to define and share what Black history means to them.

We’re always proud of celebrations of rights and representation. That’s why we’re proud to support and advocate for the ideas behind Black History Month, this year and always.

Black History Month is an annual celebration of black history, held in both the USA and Great Britain. It’s commemorated in a variety of different ways - all of which focus on the contributions Africa and African peoples make to British culture and all its successes. That could be anything from events to films to marches.

We’re using the opportunity of Black History Month to highlight the ethnicity pay gap in our workplaces. Persons of colour are making a huge contribution to our business growth in the UK - we must recognise and support that contribution. After all, we already know that diverse teams are more successful and productive. And so do the employers we work with. Browse our list of diversity-focused employers here.

We’re raising this as an issue because a pay audit of organisations in the Greater London authority group alone found ethnic workers had a salary of 37% less than white colleagues. If that was played out across all industries then families could be losing out on billions and billions of pounds.

We’re behind the call from campaigners behind the #ethnicitypaygap call for mandatory reporting on salaries for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) colleagues. This would reveal not only the obvious lack of non-white executives at the top of companies, but a pool of talented BAME people being undermined by employers. That’s due to failures in recruitment, but also in barriers to promotion. We believe there is more for employers to do.

October is Black History Month – a time of national celebration to honour the achievements and contributions of black people in Britain.

At Network Rail, they are highlighting the importance of diversity and encouraging employees to join in with Black History Month events. Read more...

Network Rail present new film: Change the Game

This Black History Month a new film from Network Rail, Change The Game, underscores the importance of sharing Black history and inspiring the next generation of rail workers. Watch here...

Black History Month is More Important than ever this year!

Black people have always made history and always will – but it’s equally important that Black people take the lead on how that history is discovered, explored, researched, recorded, archived, curated, exhibited and shared. Read more...

Nurturing equality and unity from the boardroom to the shop floor.

Siemens UK signs up to the Race at Work Charter to underscore its continuing commitment to racial equality. Read more...

RACE at Work

Black History Month Stretches beyond celebrating and educating the importance of Black culture in society it aims to provide an education into RACE itself and how the work place can be part of the conversation.

In response to the killing of George Floyd and wider race equality at work issues. We recognise that having conversations about race can be difficult. Some people stay silent for fear of saying the wrong thing; others adopt a ‘colour blind approach’ – “I just don’t see race”! Today staying silent on race inclusion issues is no longer an option. We all have a responsibility to call out overt and subtle forms of racism in the workplace and in society at large.

Recently VERCIDA Consulting Director Dan Robertson spoke with Fiona Daniels, Co- Founder Black Leaders Network, and Flora Alphone, Senior Associate at VERCIDA Consulting to discuss The Issues of Racism the Modern Workplace. This discussion-based webinar covered:

What do we mean by modern-day racism and how does this play out at work
What are race based micro-inequities and how do these impact BAME communities at work?
What is White Privilege and how White allies are needed to tackle modern- day racism
To learn how to move from a ‘colour blind’ approach to race inclusion to a ‘colour brave’ approach

WHITE ALLYSHIP

Non-white communities are the victims of everyday racism, but racism itself is not an issue which black communities can and should have to shoulder. To address the root causes of everyday racism, and issues of race equality in the workplace, organisations should engage their white colleagues as allies and agents of change.

What does being an ally really mean? How do allies think and act?

Allyship has four stages of effective: Apathetic, Aware, Active, Advocate, to be a Active listening and learning to challenge and speak up for others

Providing an overview of the concept of White Privilege and how this leads to advantage for some groups and disadvantage and discrimination for others.

You can watch the conversations about Race at work and White Allyship by visiting

https://www.vercidagroup.com/race-at-work

Black History Month 2020

We’re always proud of celebrations of rights and representation. That’s why we’re proud to support and advocate for the ideas behind Black History Month, this year and always.

October Month Highlights

Nelson Mandela

EMPLOYERS WITH BAME INITIATIVES

Articles

October is Black History Month – a time of national celebration to honour the achievements and contributions of black people in Britain.

Network Rail present new film: Change the Game

Black History Month is More Important than ever this year!

Nurturing equality and unity from the boardroom to the shop floor.

Aviva launch new campaign - Change the race ratio for Black History Month