Facing my own white privilege

I saw a post on LinkedIn this week. Aaisha Joseph, who is an independent D&I consultant from New York, posted that “DEI does not belong under HR”. I liked it. Which may be a bit dangerous, when your first line of contact, in a D&I consultancy firm, is HR. However, I still liked it.

First of all, our job as consultants is not to rub your back. We would be really bad advisors, if we did so. Our job is to challenge you and to see the things, you cannot see, because of… corporate. Secondly, D&I may be anchored in HR, but it is not an HR discipline. It’s a business and leadership discipline.

When 48% of white, heterosexual cis-men in a survey done by Center for Talent Innovation say they find that diversity and inclusion is important, but are too busy to engage in the work, it speaks volumes to the fact that the work with diversity, equity and inclusion cannot be something that only people in HR engage in.

My own white privilege
Diversity and inclusion is uncomfortable work. I first hand experienced this myself during this week - yeah, I felt the burn in my own mind. In Diversity Factor, we participate in an anti-racism network for independent consultants and activists, who want to move this agenda forward. The facilitation around the network is done by two powerhouses, who do their utmost to create a safe space for all participants (looking at you Mark and Lasse - well done).

However, as a white privileged woman, I find myself being afraid of taking up too much space. Being a dominant and loud person already, it feels like being caught between a rock and a hard place. Because, even though I know that I have knowledge that is relevant to bring to the table, I am mainly there to listen and understand how I can be a better ally. Is the fragile white woman showing her true colours? Maybe. Or maybe, this is just what I need to feel in that room to understand (and work) with my own privileges.

A better leader
We get that you have to start somewhere, and an easy starting point is talent acquisition and securing a more (gender) diverse pipeline. Companies lack talent and ensuring a diverse talent pool is key to securing the right competencies and personalities for the future success of the business strategy. Trust us, we get it.

However, we would be bad at our job, if we did not tell you that it is not enough. You need to flip it. Start with working with the culture, the inclusion level, the belonging, the structures (looking at you, Performance Management System) and the individual awareness and understanding. Is this uncomfortable? Yes, unfortunately. However, as I learned this week, awareness about my own white privilege and being conscious about it makes me not only a better ally, but also a better leader.