CERTAIN people of colour at Unicef UK are frequently encountering covert racism, revealed by an independent audit Full Colour (leadership specialist).
According to the analysis, which the organisation proactively commissioned, covert racism and unconscious bias are “part of life” for certain employees at the organisation.
After Unicef UK was openly accused of institutional racism in 2021, the analysis was done, and 24 different forms of microaggressions at the organisation were found.
The research defines microaggressions as attitudes, behaviours, and linguistic uses that mistakenly or purposefully denigrate members of marginalised groups.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Unicef UK, who joined the organisation in January of this year, apologised to his coworkers and said any sort of racism was “intolerable.”
Sparkes said: “This is not an easy truth or reality to be faced with, but I know that we need to understand the problem fully, in order to move forward.
“We fully accept the report’s findings and recommendations and acknowledge that, even though we have made much progress, we have some way to go to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation,” he said promising that the organisation would “learn, build, and grow from here.”
Some of the participants who belonged to the ethnic minorities claimed to have personally encountered microaggressions or racism. They also claim to have heard from their peers about the experiences of others including racism.
Respondents also felt there was systemic or institutional racism at the organisation and people of colour were less able to progress at the charity.
Full Colour, did, however, acknowledge the charity’s advancements since the assessment was commissioned during the fall of last year.
It claimed that the groundwork had been created for fostering an inclusive culture and empowering leaders to play a more active part in enacting change. This involved educating managers and staff members on diversity and fairness. According to the study, the charity also set departmental team and personal inclusion goals.
The charity said that, in order to become an anti-racist organisation, an action plan will be set up and distributed among the personnel in January of the following year.
[Source: EasternEye]
Subscribe for our weekly news letter here!
You can unsubscribe us at any time
