24 Jul 2020

Diversity Lens - Issue 36

Diversity Lens - Issue 133 Diversity Lens - Issue 132 Diversity Lens - Issue 131

Jul 24

Diversity Lens - Issue 36

Diversity Lens

In a rush? This week we feature a Black and Asian couple blogging to inspire others, and Black women reasserting body positivity. We hear effects of the pandemic on women's careers and disabled job seekers. Firsthand accounts are spotlighted of racial discrimination in schools, and 'conversion therapy' in the LGBTQ+ community. Check out more stories below and scroll to the bottom for our featured jobs of the week!

Latest News

Diversifying - We are all different and we are all the same
Check out our new video from our Careers platform, Diversifying! At Diversifying, we are committed to connecting candidates of any and all backgrounds, to organisations who truly care about inclusion. We all deserve to be our authentic selves at work. Click the video below for more about our mission.

“Diversity isn’t a tick box or checklist. Diversity is part of being human”

South Asian anti-black racism: 'We don't marry black people'
Amit and Michelle blog about their experiences as a mixed race couple. The two met during school but kept their relationship secret for years due to their fear of others' perceptions. Amit has received backlash from their relationship in his community, with claims that he was a “sellout from the Indian community”. Amit and Michelle have since gained acceptance from Amit’s family, and they hope to inspire other Black and Asian couples to share their stories. Click the photo to hear directly from Amit and Michelle.

Watch time: 6 minutes

‘I felt totally alone’ – students are speaking up about anti-blackness at school
Black British students are speaking up and sharing their experience of racial discrimination in academia. “For decades, the UK’s educational system has had all its variables tipped out of our favour”, whether that’s in its curriculum, in racism within the student body, or in biases fostered by teachers. For example, with GCSE and A-Level results being rewarded through predicted grades this year, many worried that teachers' unconscious bias would underestimate the talent of black students. Prejudice within educational systems is being called out more and more, but more reform is needed urgently. Read full article by clicking the graphic below.

Read time: 9 minutes

Conversion Therapy Still Isn't Illegal in the UK
Shockingly, conversion therapy still occurs in the UK to this day. Misleadingly called a ‘therapy’ the treatment is “a widely discredited pseudoscience predicated on the false and incredibly damaging idea that being LGBTQ is a mental disorder”. On July 3rd, the government tweeted (and deleted) a survey asking how the LGBTQ community have been affected by this pseudoscience, and whether it should be banned, to much outrage. The problem was that this abhorrent and dystopian-style practice was even under debate, and to predispose that there were two valid sides to the discussion. Stars such as Elton John and Dua Lipa have called for an end to conversion therapy for good.Read time: 6 minutes

Events

N ational Diversity Awards 2020
Our truly inspiring CEO and Founder Cynthia V Davis has been shortlisted for the UK’s largest Diversity Awards! Cynthia is a finalist in the category Entrepreneur of Excellence at the National Diversity Awards 2020.

A record breaking 64,000 people were nominated this year alone and the results are finally in, with an astonishing 126 nominees being recognised for their various achievements nationwide. Amongst those being honoured are charities, campaigners and activists, all of whom work tirelessly to combat injustice and discrimination in very different ways. To view a full list of nominees click the picture below.

Diversity and Inclusion Insights

Coronavirus: Disabled job hunters 'should not be forgotten'
In this unprecedented time of mass redundancies, job seekers living with disabilities are struggling disproportionately. Figures show that disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people. Sherron Chambers from Birmingham recounts her struggle with a lack of support from employers, and recruiters instantly discounting her due to her disability. With UK unemployment set to reach record highs, the government must not forget disabled people in their initiatives.

Read time: 4 minutes

Will women have to work harder after the pandemic?
Many women feel the effects of gender biases in their careers daily, and the need to work harder and longer than men to prove their worth in a company. But how does this play out for working mothers when managing childcare round the clock? Catalyst found that there are implicit biases that are stacked against women in the workplace; for example, women were found more likely than men to start at lower positions, and progressed less despite working longer hours. While flexibility has increased with the pandemic, biases are known to be exacerbated, and further change needs to be made a priority.

Read time: 6 minutes

Story of the Week

In conversation with Benjamin Zephaniah and George the Poet
Benjamin Zephaniah and George the Poet are both inspiring British poets. The two contemporary Black artists were born a generation depart but share many of the same experiences of exposing racial injustice through their art.

Listen time: 33 minutes

Featured Video

Body positivity movement: 'Why is my body not important?'
The body positivity movement is nothing new in the mainstream media, but has more recently been co-opted by slim white women. Body positivity as a concept was birthed from fat Black women, but these roots are often lost and their voices silenced. Listen to the experiences of 5 plus-sized models with the online body positivity movement.