As a culture, we’ve made some middling progress against systemic racism in the workplace (depending on who you ask, of course), but such a deeply ingrained societal disease won’t be corrected by company policies and procedures without ardent and honest cross-organizational support—it takes outspoken condemnation by powerful people and a culture of acceptance, equality and open mindedness that’s role modeled by those at the very top of organizational hierarchies. That shouldn’t be asking a lot, but it’s evident in the opinions of employees of all backgrounds that this spirit is not pervasive in most workplaces.
Richard Edelman Source: www.aberje.com (Photo: Evandro Moraes)
However, change is not only possible, it’s critical for companies to operate at optimal levels. This is among the key findings of the newly released Trust Barometer Special Report: Business and Racial Justice from PR giant Edelman. And armed with the findings of this research, firm president, CEO and PR industry titan Richard Edelman showcased for us all how a true leader addresses this pressing issue in his presentation at last week’s sixth annual Women of Color Connecting Summit (WOCCON), hosted by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), where dozens of highly recognized executives and entrepreneurs appeared over the three-day event that challenges the meritocracy of capital access for women of color entrepreneurs. In his session, “Data Matters,” on March 5, Edelman issued a zero-tolerance call to action not only to the business world at large, but to a still-fractured society.
Edelman spoke on the importance of data to drive business outcomes, and presented Edelman Trust Barometer findings that spelled out the persistence of systemic racism that continues to darken the business landscape, and in an impassioned exhortation, attacked the dysfunctional organizational culture that allows it.
Below are segments of his speech:
“I want to talk with you about trust,” he said shortly into his presentation. “I’m going to give you some data now that is important. The first is that societal fears are actually on par now with personal economic fears. We know about the risk of job loss from AI. We know about inflation concerns, now we’ve got worries about nuclear war and climate change, etc. So that’s just setting a context. People are a bit nervous, and you see this in the electoral polls.
“The second is there’s a major growth in concern about racial injustice. It’s growing, especially in the African American community, up 11 percent, and in the Latino community up 15 percent in the last year—more among Democrats, more among lower income, more among women, and also among youth. Nearly 70 percent are concerned about systemic racism in the United States.
“Not a single institution of the four that we follow is now trusted to address this issue of race—business had been, but is no longer, and government is the least trusted to address racism. Not a single business sector is seen as doing well on addressing racism. The best is sports. At the bottom is financial services, and more or less, the rest are in between. But not a single sector is doing well.”
“There are very high expectations of business as the most trusted institution. And what does that mean specifically? Well, it means that if you’re a consumer, you’re actually looking at whether a brand addresses racism and systemic injustice. And you’ll see—for example, 60 percent of African Americans and 55 percent of Latinos look before they buy from a brand at whether that brand is actually standing up and speaking for them—by two to one Democrats over Republicans, slightly more female over male, more younger and, interestingly, more high income consumers.
“Job seekers look at whether CEOs are speaking out on controversial issues. Specifically, 63 percent of Latinos and 60 percent of Blacks say they look at whether a CEO speaks publicly about controversial issues, DE&I, etc. Job seekers also expect employers to demonstrate commitment to these societal issues, whether it’s access to healthcare, human rights, or racial justice.”
He went on to demonstrate that promoting equality is not only the right thing to do, it position brands and businesses to actually operate at a higher level, as one would expect. “Progress on addressing racism is a tangible—it actually improves my loyalty. I’ll stay longer at a company. It improves my advocacy, meaning I’ll recommend the company. It improves my sense of belonging—I feel better, like I fit in the company, and that makes me want to do more. I will deliver more than minimum.”
Employer action is the key to progress. “We always say trust drives growth and action earns trust. So specifically, I want to ensure that there’s diversity across all levels of the company. I want to be sure it’s in all functions, at all levels, and especially in the boardroom and in the C-suite. I also want you as a company to combat misconceptions.”
The passion in his voice escalated as he went on. “This is one of the big problems in America. We lack reliable information. So specifically address misconceptions about DE&I. I have heard so much about let’s drop DE&I as a phrase, let’s just focus on sustainability. Nonsense. We have to defend DE&I as an important part of the equation of ESG. ESG matters. I know a lot of conservatives are blasting ESG and saying it’s ‘woke.’ No. We must not give up what we’ve achieved in the last three or four years. It’s really important.”
“Also, address misconceptions about affirmative action. ‘No, you did not get this job just because you are a certain color, you actually earned it.’ Lastly, find ways to identify misinformation. A lot of stuff that’s put into the ecosystem now is just fake news. We have to identify that and make sure that people know the truth.”
He then lambasted business leaders’ weak-willed commitments. “Follow through on your promises. This is key to trust. Nearly two-thirds of people say companies are doing a mediocre job of living up to their promise or commitments to address racism within the organization. This is quite shocking. Three-quarters of Blacks say this, two-thirds of Latinos, two-thirds of women, two-thirds of 18-to-34 year olds, and also two-thirds of low income people.”
And he offered solutions. “I have four specific points of action for business. First, this has to be CEO-led from the top down. Hold your executives accountable. We have to make sure that senior management buys into the idea that diversity and inclusion matters.
“Second, we’ve got to have a shared understanding that racial justice actually increases progress. It doesn’t prevent it. We’ve got to debunk disinformation and make sure we have a framework so people can see progress.
“Third, we have to have peers. Remember, information is not just trusted top down, it’s also trusted peer to peer. Employers are smart if they talk to their employees. Most information comes from people like you, a person like myself. You have to make sure that people are able to talk with each other and give quality information.
“Lastly, business is about bottom-line benefit. Diversity and inclusion is a bottom-line benefit. We’ll get consumers to buy more products, we’ll get employees to be happier and we’ll have a better performing operation.”
After his moving address, an event moderator asked a pointed question referencing his data slides: “The numbers for whites in those statistics are often a little bit lower in terms of their interest [in these issues]. Do you feel like it’s just that they don’t care? Or is it that there are a lot of people who still don’t really know and understand, and therefore don’t prioritize these issues?”
Edelman responded: “I think there’s some who believe it’s a zero-sum game—and that’s tragic because we have to explain to them that in fact a rising tide lifts all boats. And we have to also depoliticize this. It has to be something that isn’t a campaign issue. It is a country issue. And we also have to take the anger out of it. We have to make it about business progress. We’re all going to make more money, more employees are going to be signing up, more consumers are going to be buying our stuff.”
Before wrapping up, the moderator pointed out that Edelman had indeed been the first executive to sign up for a presentation at this year’s event. “Believe me, I’m standing up for DE&I in every client conversation,” he responded in conclusion.
Download the Trust Barometer Special Report: Business and Racial Justice here.
The IFEL team will be adding clips from the conference to this site over the next few days, so check it out to learn more.
