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Formerly known as BAME Recruitment

19 Nov 2021

Diversity Lens - Issue 103

Nov 19

Diversity Lens - Issue 103

Welcome to Diversity Lens.

Last week at Diversifying.io, our weekly Lunch & Learn session welcomed representatives from Disability Rights UK.

In this hugely insightful session, we were reminded that what really disables people are the barriers they experience in society. As an inclusive careers platform, we're committed to dismantling these barriers and asking all applicants alike, "what would help you to realise your full potential?”

However we recognise that we are still on a journey to being the most inclusive company possible. Check out the brilliant work of Disability Rights UK.

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Our Interview with Business Reporter has landed!
We sat down with Ashley Blake from Business Reporter to discuss sluggish Diversity and Inclusion efforts, and our vision for a more inclusive future.
 
 
OPINION PIECE
Womanhood, Agency, and Autonomy: A Feminist Recounting Of The Conservatorship Of Britney Spears

By Almaas Bokhari, Customer Success Executive
Image of a free Britney protest

On Friday 12th November 2021, after 13 years, Britney Spears was freed from the restrictions placed upon her through a conservatorship.

This blog post by our very own Almaas Bokhari is an exploration of this conservatorship, and its relation to the wider issues of societal prejudice towards women that it illuminates. An excerpt follows.

At present, women are routinely denied control over their reproductive rights by those with legislative power due to conservative cultural values; they withhold these rights despite evidence suggesting increased reproductive agency would be a key factor in diminishing global poverty.

Women also have heart attacks misdiagnosed 50% more often than men due to medical professionals perceiving their symptoms as a product of emotions or psychology rather than a serious bodily malady.

I myself recall taking my mother, a woman of colour, to an emergency department for chest pains and having the doctor on call consistently spend their time making eye contact with me and addressing me directly, even though my mum was the patient in need of care and I was merely her assigned male at birth child.

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Text: IN OTHER NEWS. Background image shows picture of protestors.
Windrush compensation scheme has ‘concerning weaknesses’, says charity
Woman with protest banner reading

The Windrush Compensation Scheme offers financial compensation to those who arrived in the UK from Commonwealth countries and settled before 1973.

A legal charity has called for the programme to be taken out of the Home Office due to "concerning weaknesses" in the scheme; delays and inconsistencies in decision-making; and a lack of experience and cultural understanding. An estimated 15,000 people are eligible for the compensation, but only 864 have received payments.
It’s time to tackle health inequality – starting with sickle cell care
Two black hands being held

Sickle cell overwhelmingly affects black people. A report has highlighted that Sickle cell patients experience a lack of understanding of their condition, a lack of trained staff and failure to respond properly to patients.

A young black man named Evan Smith died in North Middlesex Hospital after "a terrible series of tragic and avoidable mistakes and failures". This revelation has prompted the Secretary of State for Health to meet with the Sickle Cell Society to discuss the report's findings.

"The secretary of state has said he wants to tackle “the disease of disparity” and address these inequalities."

Sesame Street introduces Ji-Young, the neighborhood's first Asian American muppet
Kathleen Kim, Ji-Young’s puppeteer, with the finished muppet.

The new Asian-American puppet Ji-Young will make her debut next week. Ji-Young will be confronted by a racist comment telling her to “go back home” in this significant episode which sees the other puppets rally around her.

"My one hope, obviously, is to actually help teach what racism is, help teach kids to be able to recognize it and then speak out against it”, puppeteer and partial inspiration, Kathleen Kim says.
Text: ENTER THE WORK SPHERE. Background image shows picture of protestors.
Staying power! How to thrive in the great resignation if you don’t want to quit

It’s been dubbed ‘the great resignation’, but Zoe Williams from The Guardian is interested in those that stay put. “How do you manage your Fomo and quarry some advantage out of the situation?”, she asks.

Zoe encourages an audit of your role to ensure you are happy with the work you are doing and the responsibilities you are taking on. Make sure you realise your value in the organisation and reflect on what would improve your quality of work and life. It’s a good time for renegotiating!
The long-lasting effects of workplace sexual harassment

Most sexual harassment in the workplace still remains unreported, meaning the impact can go unseen.

Workplace harassment can have wide-ranging “ripple effects” long after the harassment itself. In the short-term, there is unemployment, isolation, lost wages, ill health. In the longer term, there may be gaps in employment, poor references, financial insecurity and relationship strain. What can be done to mitigate this?

"Substantial improvements will only come with structural transformation of the workplaces, cultures and legal systems that favour secrecy, hierarchy and low pay."

Beyond good intentions: how to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Companies with the highest proportion of ethnic and cultural diversity are 33 per cent more likely to outperform their competitors.

The business case for diversity is stronger than ever – not to mention the moral and social responsibility, whether that’s in terms of gender, ethnicity, culture, disability, age or any other characteristic that might set you apart. You might think this is old news by now, but while lip service has been paid in abundance to the importance of diversity, the stark reality is that progress remains sluggish. We provide our advice to the Independent. 

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