The chief executive of the National Centre for Diversity has set out 10 key things that college leaders can do to promote diversity and inclusion in their organisations.
Speaking at the Association of Colleges’ annual conference today, Solat Chaudhry said systemic racism did exist, and there would be systems and processes within further education colleges that would hold people back.
“It’s like a radiator: you can’t see the radiator behind the sofa, but when it goes cold you can feel it’s too cold, and when it’s too hot, you can feel it’s too hot. It’s there, it’s in the system, it’s all down to things like history and legacy,” he said.
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“Lots of things which happen in organisations happen because they’ve always been that way. There will be systems and processes and policies and procedures in your organisation that look alright but actually, probably, seek to kind of hold some people back.”
How colleges can tackle racism
In order to tackle systemic racism, improve the diversity of organisations and ensure that they are fully inclusive, Mr Chaudhry recommended the following 10 steps:
- Ensure that black, Asian and/or minority ethnic staff and students feel included, using the six pillars of inclusivity: fairness, respect, equality of opportunities, diversity is valued, inclusion and emotional connection (FREDIE).
- Become knowledgeable and comfortable with race issues, and curious and enquiring about diversity.
- Assess how systemic racism and cultural inequality might manifest in your college.
- Understand how unconscious bias and prejudice manifest.
- Be aware of micro-aggressions, micro-inequities and micro-exclusions.
- Become more visible: leaders and managers need to be seen to be leading.
- Conduct an equality-based cultural, systemic equality audit.
- Ensure FREDIE (the acronym used above) is embedded into teaching practice.
- Become an ally.
- Seek the opportunities for diversity in the Skills for Jobs White Paper.
