Why is Race Equality Week important?
Race Equality Week is an important time to reflect on the reality that Race Equality is an aspiration and a journey and that we have not yet reached our destination. The presence of people from Communities Effected by Racial Inequality (CERI) in the workplace only highlights this issue more with an over-representation of CERI individuals in the lower pay grades contrasted by a sharp under-representation in senior level posts. This trend also exists in Directorates who deliver traditional people focused services such as social care and housing employing far more CERI individuals than non-people focused directorates.
Inequality also exists outside of organisations, in the criminal justice system, in health care and in the education sector. Race Equality Week is a great opportunity to reflect on organisational and individual commitments and strategies to address race equality and to ask, is it enough? And is it working?
What are Croydon’s plans for Race Equality Week 2022?
Launch the Race Matters Pledge and Equalities Pledge.
Ideas for REW;
- Follow up ELT Tea Talk – hosted by our Race Equality Staff Network with our Corporate Management Team, will explore equality in career progression and tackling barriers.
- In line with the theme #Actionnotjustwords” we will highlight completed actions since 2020.
- The Big promise – we will make commitments to race equality by launching our Race Matters and Equalities Pledges on 8 March and 25 May for George Floyd Race Matters Pledge.
What do you hope to achieve as a result?
To have gained commitment from employees, residents, businesses and community organisations to sign up to the Race Matters Pledge and Equalities Pledge and to undertake improvement actions
To implement the recommendations from the Children’s Race Equality Project in other divisions, increasing race equality at the Council and gaining the confidence of staff that we are listening and taking action.
Share with staff the work of the EDI Internal Control Board regarding plans and targets with regard to race equality and other forms of characteristics to progress our work on tacking inequalities in the borough
To work in partnership with employees, residents and visitors to the borough in eliminating racial inequality and other forms of discrimination making the borough more inclusive for all.
Why this year’s theme #ActionNotJustWords is so important?
We have spoken about race equality in the UK for over 50 years but have still not achieved it. Many people from CERI communities do not believe that they will see race equality in their lifetime. We have parents, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren all experiencing the same toxic environment in a range of different organisations from government to healthcare and the commercial sector. During lockdown 2020, we learned more about the impact of discrimination structural or otherwise on health outcomes for individuals. If we do not address systemic and individual discrimination both in society and in organisations we are impacting on the health and life outcomes of a large section of our residents and employees.