HR Policy Association pledged to listen, learn, and educate in a statement released this week that condemned racism, hatred and injustice in the world and bias in the workplace.
Listening as the First Step Toward Change The statement says driving change must start "by listening to our Black employees to start with, to deepen our awareness of their perspectives and experiences. This input will guide us in taking tangible, measurable, transparent and comprehensive actions in our workplaces."
The Association commits to helping members in four areas: Economic Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Well-Being, and Political Empowerment. The Association recognizes that this is not a one-time event, but an ongoing and evolving process designed to achieve sustained change.
Survey Provides Insight into Member Approaches, Employee Responses: Meanwhile, this week, members responding to the Association’s pulse survey on company racial injustice responses reported that:
- Nearly 80% of Black employees expressed concern about the lack of representation in management, followed by 44 percent reporting unequal access to promotions to leadership roles
- 50% of employees asked for specific actions ranging from senior leadership representation to taking external stances on injustice
- The most common actions by companies are increasing training related to diversity and inclusion (80%), holding additional listening sessions (78%) and increasing resources dedicated to diversity and inclusion activities (72%)
- Most CEOs are taking an active and visible role in leading the company’s response (70%).
Outlook: The goal of producing sustained and meaningful change will take commitment to developing effective approaches to increasing Black representation in leadership and the talent pipeline, including a focus on culture and understanding.