Back in January, I attended the BAMEed Network conference, ‘Creating the future with everyone on board’. Supporting with registration meant I missed the first keynote of the day from Shabna Begum, Head of Research at The Runnymede Trust but I saw a couple of papers that had been shared.
The research
This post explores the paper, Broken Ladders: The myth of meritocracy for women of colour in the workplace, written by Michelle Gyimah, Zaimal Azad, Shabna Begum, Alba Kapoor, Lizzie Ville, Alison Henderson and Monica Dey and published by The Runnymede Trust and The Fawcett Society.
After I read the paper, I sought to gather the content that had stayed with me. This personal set of notes isn’t intended to be a thorough summary or a replacement for reading the paper yourself. Think of it as a gateway to getting curious.
The summary
The data is taken from focus groups, interviews, consultation events, and a survey of more than 3000 women from Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, Black African, Arab and Black Caribbean heritage, working in big businesses, small charities, and in the public sector such as the civil service, local authorities, the NHS, and in education.
The research indicates the ‘cumulative’ effects of systemic ‘racism, micro-aggressions, embedded bias and lack of representation’ for women of colour in the workplace (p.8). The statistics and experiences reported are extensive and difficult to ignore. The recommendations are equally robust and actionable. The graphics below represent my key takeaways but they barely represent the learning contained in this paper. A must-read for all education leaders.
Broken Ladders: The myth of meritocracy for women of colour in the workplace
Michelle Gyimah, Zaimal Azad, Shabna Begum, Alba Kapoor, Lizzie Ville, Alison Henderson and Monica Dey, 2022
Research into the inequalities of the workplace and their impact with women from Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, Black African, Arab and Black Caribbean heritage, working in big businesses, small charities, and in the public sector such as the civil service, local authorities, the NHS, and in education.
- Over 50 participants in focus groups and interviews
- More than 60 women in consultation events
- A survey of more than 3000 women
'The report reveals the 'cumulative' effects of systemic 'racism, micro-aggressions, embedded bias and lack of representation' (p.8).
Women of colour
'75% experienced one or more forms of racism at work – from “banter” about ethnicity or culture, surprise at their ability to speak English, micro-aggressions such as repeated mispronunciation of their name or outright racial slurs' (p.8).
'61% had performed the ‘mental gymnastics’ of changing something about themselves – they had changed their language, topics of conversation, hairstyle, their name or what they eat at work a great deal’ or ‘quite a' 'bit’ – to ‘fit in’ within the workplace' (44% of white women) (pp.8-9).
'28% reported a manager having blocked their progression at work - as well as experiencing ‘sticky floors’ and ‘concrete ceilings’ (compared to 19% of white women) (p.9).
45% of those 'experiencing racism at work said it had affected their ability or desire to stay in their role ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a bit’ (p.9).
'64% feel it is important to be promoted – but, they are significantly more likely than white women to report being passed over for promotion, despite frequent good feedback (42% versus 27%) (p.9).
For 43%, 'being refused promotion led to loss of motivation' (p.9).
Getting a foot in the door
'Their experience and skills were often not considered to be sufficient without supplementing it with unpaid labour and their perception was that this was not the case for many of their white counterparts.... This led to unnecessary feelings of ‘imposter syndrome’ when they did finally secure a paid job, feeling ‘lucky’ to enter formal employment at last' (p.29).
'6% of women of colour changed their name on a job application (compared to 3% of white women)
Women of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi heritage are most likely to do so (8-9%)' (p.30).
'Once they are successful in securing an interview, they then face more ‘mental gymnastics’ to weave their way through a hiring process where they are indirectly and directly discriminated against. At every step of the process, women of colour assess how they are going to feel working at an organisation - and ask themselves if they are risking entering a harmful, racist environment' (p.25).
'Make job advertisements more inclusive' (p.35).
'Reduce bias and be more transparent in hiring processes' (p.35).
Hard road to progression
'The lack of access to leadership training and development and support for women to develop and practise those skills in their workplace settings was a common experience for women of colour across all sectors' (p.39).
'Many women of colour described being glued to ‘sticky floors’ unable to progress because they lacked experience and guidance due to limited mentoring opportunities' (p.49).
The frustration is that when trying to move up into senior roles there was often no open and competitive process for recruitment. This highlights the problem with informal processes at work where there is no clear ladder of progression, which in turn can hide practices that discriminate against women of colour and make it difficult to appeal against those outcomes' (p.41).
'Set structures that ensure line managers deliver equitable and fair progression and promotion outcomes for employees' (p.50).
'Conduct an annual learning and development audit by gender and ethnicity to track' the equity of development opportunities' (p.50).
'Make progression routes explicit and well-known, not based on word of mouth and informal networks' (p.51).
'Ensure that women of colour have equitable access to both mentorship and sponsorship opportunities to enable them to progress into leadership roles' (p.51).
The other invisible workload
'The impact of the discrimination is exacerbated by the lack of support in navigating and responding to it' (p.54).
'75% women of colour reporting having experienced one or more forms of racism at work.
- Repeated mispronunciation of names
- Statements of surprise at abilities (e.g., ‘you speak English so well’)
- ‘Banter’ related to ethnicity, culture, or religion were among the most common experiences, with almost half of the sample reporting them' (p.55).
'The constant work of trying to seem ‘palatable’ within the culture of workplaces places additional emotional labour for all women of colour. Many felt pressure to constantly do more, do better, prove themselves and justify their presence in the workplace, no matter their stage of career, ethnicity or religion' (p.58).
'Produce an ethnicity and gender pay gap report, and use it to develop your Anti-Racism Action Plan for improvement' (p.63).
'Use data about your organisation to develop your Anti-Racism Action Plan with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) targets and accountability built in' (p.63).
'Have clear and transparent processes for reporting racism' (p.64).
I’m in leadership and my face still doesn’t fit
The constant struggle to ‘fit in’ and conform is exhausting and many women of colour felt like their efforts were never enough. Being the only women of colour in a team or organisation can be extremely tiring and often is a constant battle between wanting to be authentic and wanting to fit in' (p.69).
“You always did feel that you were having to prove yourself with everything that you did, and having to prove why you should be in the meeting, why you should be on the project. It felt like a constant battle for me and the work that I was doing and needing to get or how to get the acknowledgement and respect for the work that I was doing" (p.69).
'27% of women of colour were told that they do not have the right leadership qualities' (p.68).
'Undertake regular ‘stay interviews’ (an alternative to ‘exit interviews’), giving women of colour safe spaces and opportunities to feedback on their career experiences' (p.73).
'Sign up to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter' (p.73).
'Appoint an executive sponsor for race' (p.73).
'Leaders should value the skills women of colour bring to leadership, and foster a culture whereby they can bring their differences, expanding the definition of leadership rather than making women of colour conform to stereotypical ideas' (p.73).
The cumulative impact on mental health
'The self-doubt women of colour experience is reinforced by the second guessing they have to do in the face of micro-aggressions, questioning their own judgment on whether their experiences are ‘real’ or whether they are reading too much into certain behaviours' (p.77).
'39% of women of colour reported that a lack of progression had affected their well-being' (p.76).
'43% experienced a loss of confidence at work as a result of experiencing racism' (p.79).
'All of the women of colour in senior positions talked about the impact on their well-being and confidence of years of battling stereotypes and racism. Some mentioned the impact of this stress on their physical health, for some it eroded their confidence such a degree, that they waited to be ‘perfect’ before applying for promotions, and for some it meant that they left their sector or organisation altogether' (p.79).
'Have a plan for reducing cumulative and extra pressures of microaggressions and working in unwelcoming spaces, to address mental health and well-being of women of colour' (p.82).
The reflection and action
I have shared this paper and notes with colleagues to inform our content writing for leaders as well as our own organisation’s focus on ensuring an equitable workplace.
As you read these notes and then the full paper, you may find it helpful to consider your own actions. Some reflection questions have been provided below for you to select from. You may like to think of reflection questions of your own to suit your role and context. You may find it helpful to discuss your reflections with colleagues and leaders in your setting.
- What challenges me about what I’m reading and why might that be?
- What resonates with me about what I’m reading and why might that be?
- What are existing practices around job advertisements? Do they include salaries? Do they accommodate flexible working practices? Are job descriptions transparent and recognise the value of transferable experiences and skills? How might you act on what you discover? Who will you need to work with?
- Do you remove names from shortlisting during application processes? What impact might this have in your setting?
- To what extent do your interviews accurately, rather than falsely, represent the diversity of your setting?
- How are line managers in your setting supported to ensure equitable progression and promotion opportunities for all colleagues, including through appraisal processes, feedback systems and target-setting approaches?
- When internal promotion happens in your setting, how equitable and explicit is this process? Who might it favour or exclude and how? How might you go about addressing this?
- How is an ongoing commitment to increasing staff members’ racial literacy supported in your setting, particularly for line managers?
- What data do you gather on professional development and progression opportunities and pay gaps, including a breakdown by gender, race and religion?
- How do you promote mentoring opportunities for women of colour in your setting? You may want to take a look at the free coaching support available for individuals through the BAMEed Network.
- How do you ensure there are ways of listening to, taking seriously, and acting on the experiences of women of colour in your setting before exit interviews?
- How do you ensure actions you take for women of colour address the specific experiences of women of different ethnicities?
- What are your policies and processes for staff reporting racial harassment and bullying beyond line management routes? How are such incidences acted on? What does your data suggest about the effectiveness of these processes for women of colour?
One Response
This is a comprehensive piece of work I can attest to. Where will it end up? I hope as far as CEO communities and the DFE. Can we see to it that this happens? Given we are in the middle of a crisis, people who are “not affected by this sort of thing” must now take notice.