Supporting equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace
07 Feb 2023
2 min read
- Culture and diversity
- Leadership
- Learning and development
Skills for Care is committed to developing and improving to be a more inclusive organisation; through the way we work, and through what we do to support the adult social care sector.
We know that racism in the adult social care workplace can be a major challenge for Black people, people of colour and people from ethnic minorities. This includes both institutional racism and systemic racism from and within organisations, management and peers, as well as racism from people who draw on care and support.
When asked how we could help to support a diverse workforce, respondents to our survey1 asked for more dedicated resources, information and advice. Our new resource, ‘Supporting a diverse workforce: Understanding racism’ is an introductory overview of current thinking and understanding of racism. It aims to:
- raise awareness about the history of racism and show some of the forms that racism takes
- provide a model that examines systemic racism.
It encourages reflection and discussion around understanding racism, the legal context and provides the opportunity to identify any actions to take forward.
We’ve spoken to some of our colleagues who share their thoughts on actions that can be taken to support the equality and diversity agenda and ensure #ItsEveryonesBusiness.
Educate ourselves
It’s important to educate ourselves. Racial disparities are still very evident. We need to look at that disparity and understand how white workers support colleagues from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and how we have that whole conversation. It means that we learn to be a bit more comfortable with ourselves and what we’re talking about when we’re having conversations about racism.
Karen Morse, Head of Area (Yorkshire and Humber and the North East)
Don't be scared to have a 'clumsy conversation'
We’ve been having ‘clumsy conversations’ where we’re addressing things quite honestly and openly without causing offence, we’re learning from each other, we’re talking about different terminologies and things to use and we’re asking questions of each other. And really I think that’s how to start conversations within your organisation.
Tricia Pereira, Director of Operations
Make equality and diversity an essential thread running through everything
There are a few key questions that we need to ask ourselves… what is it that we need to know and understand to be effective in our work, what do we need to do to make everything we do inclusive, and raising the consciousness of that. A lot of the time we’re doing it but it’s not a conscious thought and it needs to be - a constant conversation about how we get this right and how do we do better.
Christine Wint, Head of Leadership Development
During #RaceEqualityWeek2023 and beyond, make it your business to support equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Download 'Supporting a diverse workforce: Understanding racism'
1Skills for Care 2020, Investigating the issues facing the BAME workforce and the impact of COVID-19
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