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In the first two parts of this series, published on March 25 and April 1, I wrote about why it is that white people and people of colour have different perspectives about the current status of race relations and why diversity training is only the first step in the process of understanding how structural racism continues to manifest itself in our society.

Part II focused on the "white business model" and true life examples of structural racism in Bermuda.

The final part of this article below looks to ways companies and organization can be proactive in their efforts to promote and affect positive social change in their organizations and in the greater community.

In Bermuda we have failed to study the way race was and continues to be structured in our society, thus structural racism has gone unnoticed, unchallenged and misunderstood and continues to insidiously perpetuate the inequalities in the workforce. So how do we transcend our racial legacy? What do we need to do to reduce the racial inequities that continue to exist in our society? How do companies do their part in affecting positive social change in our community?

The Aspen Institute's work on Structural Racism provides details on ways we, as both individuals and organizations, can reduce inequalities. This requires four types of changes in the way we work:

n Internal change - that is accepting and establishing racial equity as a central tenet and operating principle in our work to improve outcomes in our internal work environment... for example focus not just on improving outcomes for all but also on reducing racial gaps. Focus not just on diversity in the workplace, but also on racial equity in opportunities for advancement and leadership.

n Policy change - working on the fundamental rules of the game within your organization and your field, and not shrinking from challenging traditional power bases and networks. For example: focus on the fundamental distribution of resources in terms of money, infrastructure, and opportunities within your organization and outside your organization by examining its programmes and alliances.

n Practise change - focusing carefully on all of the ways in which standard practices reproduce - or fail to counteract - racially disparate outcomes. For example by critically examining informal practices within your organization and their impact on racial groups (e.g., mentoring, access to positions which lead to leadership opportunities, visibility etc.)

n Cultural/representational change - reframing and changing stereotypical messages, images and interpretations of information about people of colour. For example, by challenging the assumptions that employees, board members, policymakers, and the citizens of our communities, and other key actors, bring to discussions about people of colour, because these assumptions "frame" how problems are perceived and how solutions are developed.

The primary focus for an employer is hiring the right people for the job, at a fair wage, whilst trying to ensure a diverse and culturally competent staff is developed. However being cognizant of diversity is not enough in a country which suffers from a legacy of racism. It requires individuals and organizations to be vigilant and to ensure they have a broad understanding of the social background of the environment in which they work. It is essential that organizations take a proactive stance to ensure their staff not only understand the complex nature of structural racism, but also by example and action encourage staff to understand its implications and to work actively against it. It is only by inclusion and mutual respect that bridges and not walls will be built.

Some hard facts:

The number of Bermudians with BA degrees: 944 black females to 447 white females, 718 black males to 586 white males.

Bermudians with MA degrees: 479 black females to 108 white females, 201 black males to 105 white males.

Bermudians with PhD degrees: 11 black females to 4 white females, 27 black males to 16 white males (Source: Bermuda Census & CURE).

Average literacy rates (2003) by race show black and whites performing almost identically across the board for prose, numeracy and problem solving.

When one looks at level of employment by Race and Bermudian status (2006) 25 per cent of white Bermudians hold executive jobs to 24per cent of black Bermudians; 29 per cent of white Bermudians hold senior management jobs as opposed to 27 per cent of black Bermudians; 41 per cent of black Bermudians to 18 per cent of white Bermudians hold middle management jobs; and 57 per cent of black Bermudians to 11 per cent of white Bermudians hold non-professional jobs.

These figures clearly show that racial equity disparity in the workplace is still very much present, when one considers that Bermudians of colour outnumber white Bermudians by three to one, that is, 66 per cent of the Bermudian population is black, nine per cent are Bermudians of mixed race and 25 per cent are white Bermudians. Additionally, even though black Bermudians have far more degrees than white Bermudians, white Bermudians continue to hold more executive and senior management jobs than black Bermudians.

When we add non-Bermudians to the above mix the figures become even more skewed, that is, 67 per cent of Executives are white to 27 per cent black; 60 per cent senior managers are white to 31 per cent black; middle management shows a closer figure with 46 per cent black to 43 per cent white; and finally in the non-professional arena 61 per cent are black compared to 25 per cent white.

Gross annual income by Race and Bermudian status shows the ongoing inequity that continues to exist in our society, that is, 23 per cent white Bermudians compared to 16 per cent of black Bermudians earn $96,000 or more; 17 per cent white Bermudians compared to 38 per cent black Bermudians earn $60,000 - $95,999; 11 per cent white Bermudians compared to 58 per cent black Bermudians earn $24,000 - $59,999; and 10 per cent of white Bermudians compared to 56 per cent black Bermudians earn $23,999 or less.

Employment in Administration/Management (2000) shows that whites with College degrees earn $6,329 per month compared to blacks at $4,799 per month and whites with no formal certificate earn $4,012 per month compared to blacks at $3,346 per month.

Sources: American Economic Review May 2006; Aspen Institute Roundtable for Community Change; The Color Line: Why Whites and Blacks Measure Black Progress Differently by Leonard Steinhorn; Unequal Perspectives on Racial Equality by Shankar Vedantum, Washinton Post 24 March 2008; Bermuda Census & CURE statistics provided by Cordell Riley.[[In-content Ad]]

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