Representation Doesn’t Equal Inclusion
In a recent webinar for Building People CIC – a hub for EDI in the Built Environment – where I am currently contracted as the Executive Director of EDI, I was talking about Inclusive Recruitment.
A lot of organisations can get hung up on targets in order to manage underrepresentation, and I wanted to address the issue of representation.
It matters that people are not discriminated against because of a particular characteristic, and we must have methods which seek to undermine discrimination and bring about better demographic mixes across our society and provide access to opportunities.
Heathfield Head Girl board showing 1993-94 Marsha Ramroop, 1997-98 Suella Fernandes, now Braverman. Photo taken at the Heathfield closing reunion event. Our school shut in 2014.
However, it is beholden upon all of us, whatever our own identities to act with inclusion, as just because someone looks a particular way or subscribes to a particular underrepresented identity, doesn’t mean they themselves are inclusive. That shouldn’t be the presumption.
And I was compelled to share this fact, Suella Braverman the current UK Home Secretary (known for her divisive views and xenophobic policies) and me, (not known for these things!) went to the same school.
Watch on YouTube with embedded captions, the video clip from Inclusive Recruitment webinar.
TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO:
Underrepresentation is a symptom of not having an inclusive culture in your organisation.
Now, really importantly, again, representation matters around having these different demographics in your organisation, but crucially, just because someone comes from an underrepresented group doesn’t mean they represent all of that group, or that they themselves have inclusive behaviours.
And it’s at this point that I tend to be very upfront and say that our current home secretary Suella Braverman and myself we went to the same school. So, Suella is about three or four years younger than me. I was the first Head Girl from a racialised background in that school, and she also held that position a number of years later, and so, we had the same teachers, we had the same head teacher.
We had the same sorts of people around us, both our parents were immigrants to the UK, both worked in order for to put us through education, we basically, just to be clear as well that we were both privately educated – and you cannot have a person whose values and approach to life appear to be more different than my own.
But, if you were to just put a side by side, see we are both Brown women we both have shoulder length black hair, we both went to the same school, and you might look at us, and say gosh yeah, clearly you know, these two people would be the same.
No! Just for the record, No!
So, really important, when you’re thinking about Inclusive Recruitment and you’re thinking about how do you manage underrepresentation, just because you’re bringing in people who address that underrepresentation, doesn’t mean they themselves are inclusive, and have inclusive behaviours.
But it’s also worth remembering that, you know, one person from a particular group doesn’t represent that whole group either, even where different elements or characteristics and identities may seem aligned as well.
I feel like I’ve unloaded [Laughter]
