Diversity in the workplace

Black Lives Matter has brought the topic of diversity to the fore in industry, politics and sport – religion seems to be exempt for the moment! But let’s watch the space.

A colleague of mine that is black, preferring to work independently rather than be under the umbrella of our company, until now hasn’t broached the subject with me – but suggested I put my thoughts down. I don’t see black, I see a human being, I have plenty of black friends, but to me they have never been black friends, they are just friends. I never seen them by race but by who they are, however they feel different, they are aware of their “difference” and they often feel discriminated, subtly or overtly. I cannot fully understand because I am not able to walk a mile on their moccasins. Recent events have made me reflect and understand that their feelings are really strong and “Black lives matter” has a much deeper hard felt meaning.

I’m Spanish, well Catalan to be specific and have lived in the UK for 20 years and there are times I have also felt discriminated, so I strongly believe in tolerance and diversity, within our business. We DISCRIMINATE, we do 100%, we discriminate against mediocrity and we discriminate against conformism, but don’t worry – we don’t care how you look like; tall, short, black, young or old. Talent shines through, if you are determined, motivated and willing to make the best of your skills, you are our type of human being – nothing else matters!

We consider ourselves disrupters in the legal profession and the roles we require don’t necessarily fit into the normal boxes within this profession. When it comes to recruiting – we are as open as we are in terms of diversity for we believe diversity in the workplace is vital for both employees and organizations in building a great reputation thereby leading to increased profitability and opportunities for all.

But then, humans are biased. The vast majority of human decisions are not based on facts or logic – but on biases, beliefs, and intuition. That is why people, even with the best intentions, have the tendency to bring bias in the workplace. Don’t we unconsciously judge people from the color of their skin or the ethnicity they belong to? And even from the names in their curriculum vitae? And finally how important is it for the millennial to break the norms and barriers to work in an environment which fosters progressive change and collaborative teamwork? Am I stating the obvious or am I being off base? Do comment below.