Pheona and Micheal Matovu, Co-Founders, Radiant and Brighter
Tell us what you do at Radiant and Brighter?
Our vision is to develop a true understanding of culture and diversity through education, inspiration and changing perceptions. We work across public, private and third-sector organisations, providing end-to-end services, including diversity training and consultative support with a specific emphasis on diversity of ethnicity.
We work with black and minority ethnic communities, refugees and migrants in Scotland to ensure they get the support they need to find employment or set up their own business and also work directly with businesses and organisations across Scotland to help them diversify their workforce.
Tell us more about how you work with organisations to help diversify their workforce?
We work with organisations to develop bespoke programmes that support diversity and inclusion. This might involve staff training, mentorship or recruitment. We also provide staff with the skills and tools they need to make a sustainable change to the way they work. These issues are not quick fixes, and we always recommend that clients take this on as an ongoing, long-term project. Changing the hearts and minds of people takes a lot longer than having a diversity policy in place.
Is this something that all organisations should do, whether big or small?
All organisations should reflect the communities in which they operate. We are based in Scotland, and here the workforce is not very diverse, particularly in middle and senior management. So yes, this is something that all organisations need to be looking at.
The issue is, if you don’t come from a diverse background and you haven’t had enough exposure to diversity, then you are highly likely to have encoded perceptions. These perceptions then influence everything you do at work, whether designing a product or delivering a service, which means you are highly unlikely to reach people from diverse backgrounds. This is a systemic problem. We need organisations to understand the benefits of diversity. A diverse workforce is not just good for the black and ethnic minority people you employ, but it is also proven to have a positive impact on an organisation’s productivity and profits as well.
What are some of the biggest barriers to workplace diversification?
Micheal Matovu, Co-Founder of Radiant & Brighter
One of the biggest barriers is people recognising unconscious bias and racism in the first place. People will always say “I’m not racist”, but most black and ethnic minority groups will have encountered racism in the workplace. We are the ones that feel it. The way you look at me; the way you speak to me; the way you respond to me; the way you behave around me; it says a lot.
The challenge is that when we try to talk about these issues, we are immediately met with a defence; people are afraid of being judged. We need to work together to have more honest conversations and move away from just listening and talking to taking action. There is a lot that needs to be done.
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“The reality is that many black and ethnic minority groups are still made to feel they are outsiders, whether this is intentional or not. Another issue we often find is that organisations don’t recognise their lack of diversity or think they are diverse because they have some women on the board or have recruited one or two BAME employees. They carry on and think everything will be alright, but it will only be alright for so long.”
How do you know an organisation is ready to diversify its workforce?
You can only make this work when senior management is on board and willing to commit to the time and budget needed to properly make a change. Everyone in the organisation has to take part and go on this journey together.
The current challenge is that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and claiming to be doing something, but they are just trying to tick a box. These things have been embedded as part of the system for centuries, and there is no single solution. This isn’t something you are going to solve today or tomorrow. You can’t unbuild the system with two hours of diversity training or employing one person from a more diverse background. It requires honest discussion, engagement and commitment. We need to change the workplace so everyone - from senior management to the grassroots level - feels safe and comfortable having these honest conversations about diversity. That is the missing piece of the puzzle.
How does an organisation know if they are diverse enough? Is there such a thing as being diverse enough?
When you are diverse, people within your organisation will be comfortable and confident in talking about diversity, and you will be able to reach diverse communities without complications. I don’t think any organisation can say it is ‘diverse enough’ at the moment, and that’s ok. We are still in the early stages of change, which is going to take a long time, but we need to do a lot more now.
Are you optimistic in the power of organisations to make a change?
We have to be. We can’t afford to be. We can’t come this far only to think it will not happen. Otherwise, there is no point in even beginning.
These issues have got to be addressed very quickly because we are living in a world that is very small and getting smaller. The world is watching. We are too focused on fixing the people who experience racism instead of fixing the system. We are focused on the symptoms and not the cause. This pandemic has highlighted many issues that people knew but didn’t know how to address, and now is our opportunity to do something different and take action to make a change.
How we can help
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