Driving change for Race Equality Week 2024

Last week thousands of individuals and organisations took part in Race Equality Week.

This annual, UK-wide initiative and movement was launched by Race Equality Matters (REM), a non-profit organisation set up in 2020 to, in its own words, “accelerate meaningful change in the workplace” around issues of race equality and discrimination.

This year’s theme for Race Equality Week was #ListenActChange. The theme reflects REM’s findings that a significant number of people believe that their senior leaders and managers are not committed to tackling race inequality. The theme is aimed at galvanising people to take meaningful action to tackle race inequality in the workplace.

Reluctance to tackle racism in the workplace 

As we all know, discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race, which includes a person’s nationality, ethnic or national origins, is unlawful in the workplace. That is, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against its job applicants, employees and former employees because of their race.  

Employers can also be vicariously liable for discrimination, harassment or victimisation committed by their employees in the course of employment. However, an employer may be able to defend such an action if it can show that it took "all reasonable steps" to prevent the discriminatory act or harassment from occurring. It is, therefore, important for employers to take meaningful steps to prevent discrimination and harassment before complaints arise. Where a complaint of discrimination does arise, an employer will be expected to deal with it in an appropriate manner, and in accordance with its own policies and procedures. 

In a modern workplace, race discrimination is often (although not always) likely to take subtle or covert forms, such as through microaggressions or prejudicial practices and policies. Indeed, often characteristics such as hair and skin colour can be used as proxies for race and a basis for discrimination. 

These subtler forms of discrimination can be difficult to identify, and indeed are often concealed by perpetrators and employers, making it hard for victims to recognise or establish when they are being discriminated against and harder still for them to vocalise their complaints. The fear of being labelled a “troublemaker”, “too sensitive” or “unable to take a joke” if one raises concerns is very real, even today. 

In practice, there can sometimes be a reluctance amongst senior managers to acknowledge and tackle race discrimination, perhaps due to the stigma attached to being labelled racist if one were to accept that there is an issue. Concerns may be met with a very defensive response as employers try to shut the matter down as soon as possible. Employers can also fall into a trap of thinking that they do not have a problem with discrimination if no one has raised a complaint and they do not take steps to monitor employees’ perception of their workplace culture and values. 

A report prepared by academics at Middlesex University and the human rights charity brap, published in January 2024, entitled “Too hot to handle? Why concerns about racism are not heard … or acted on” (the Report) looked into racism and race discrimination within the context of the NHS. However, many of its finding and conclusions could be applied more broadly.

The Report stated that organisations can often go to “great lengths to downplay the impact of racist behaviours.” It further stated that many employers “set an unnecessarily high bar requiring staff to prove any allegation of race discrimination was ‘racially motivated’.” This can of course be incredibly difficult where, as mentioned, the racist conduct is subtle or concealed. 

This is why this year’s theme for Race Equality Week is a vital reminder to employers to take early and active steps to prevent discrimination and harassment. A failure to do so can leave employers exposed to discrimination claims before an Employment Tribunal, not to mention reputational damage resulting in difficulties in hiring and retaining talent.

Financial services 

There have been many attempts in recent years to take more active steps to tackle racism in the workplace and different industries have taken different approaches and at different speeds.

Within the financial services sector, measures have recently been put in place by the regulators aimed at forcing change from the ‘top-down’, looking at issues such as diversity on boards and within senior management. 

For example, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published rules on diversity and inclusion within company boards and executive management in April 2022. The new rules introduced diversity targets for certain companies in scope, with additional reporting requirements. We considered these targets in an article we published around the time looking at race equality in pay and senior positions. 

In September 2023, the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) outlined further measures to support healthy workplace cultures and to boost diversity and inclusion across the financial services industry. These new measures will require certain regulated companies to collect, and report to regulators, key data relating to certain protected characteristics including race and ethnicity. Questions will no doubt be asked by regulators where the data reveals any issues with inclusion and diversity.

The general hope is that these measures will cause financial services companies to introduce and encourage wider internal changes to improve diversity and inclusion. The implicit threat is that the FCA and the PRA could introduce further wide-reaching, and more public mandatory measures if companies fail to make improvements voluntarily. 

In addition to these broad company-level measures, the FCA’s growing interest in non-financial misconduct by regulated individuals is forcing financial services companies to take complaints of discrimination far more seriously and to implement significant change and provide training to staff. 

It is hoped that a multi-vectored approach to diversity and inclusion will lead to a steady improvement within the industry.

However, much still relies on senior managers being adequately trained, willing and able to tackle discrimination wherever they see it. 

This year’s theme for Race Equality Week was therefore a helpful and valuable reminder to all employers – in all sectors – of the need to listen to their employees’ views on the organisation’s culture with regard to race equality (perhaps through a survey about the organisation’s values and culture generally) and to act on any concerns or issues that come to light, which will ultimately bring about positive change in this area benefiting everyone.

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you have any questions or concerns about the topics raised in this blog, please contact Daniel Zona. 

about the author 

Daniel Zona is an Associate in the Employment team. Daniel enjoys a broad and busy employment law practice, acting for employers and individuals on both contentious and non-contentious matters. Daniel has acted for clients in a wide range of industries and sectors, with particular experience of acting for those in regulated and professional spheres, including financial services, healthcare and legal.