The devastating effects of Covid-19 on communities of color have been exacerbated and magnified by social inequalities. These inequalities are the result of another insidious virus—systemic racism—that has ravaged communities of color and ensures a continued legacy of discrimination, unfair treatment, and economic and social injustice.
To make constructive change, each of us must do hard work to counter the racism, bias, and unfair treatment that cause us to have very different experiences and opportunities. We must have challenging conversations inside our organizations to understand each other’s experiences and perspectives. We must also understand that this is not just about one biased act or statement—it is about a long history of laws, actions, attitudes, and words that have systematically advantaged one group over others.
There are no easy answers and certainly no simple ones. But people are hurting and dying. And many are finding their own way to speak out and challenge the status quo. It’s up to each of us to engage in constructive dialogue so we can bridge our divides, build a common understanding of equity, and dismantle the structures that prevent us all from truly being free.
Below are resources that can help you lead and connect across differences through these turbulent times.
Catalyst Resources
Learn from Research
- So You Want to Learn about Race & Racism: Knowledge Burst Supporter Exclusive
Diversity is a reality of our workplaces today. We all bring our life experiences and backgrounds to our organizations, teams, and interpersonal interactions. Managers everywhere are realizing they have knowledge gaps about race and racism and skill gaps in how to connect and collaborate across differences. This introduction to race and racism through quality, curated resources will help managers remedy those gaps.
- The Impact of Structural Racism on Black Americans
Many of the disparities between Black and White communities in the United States are an outgrowth of a long history of discriminatory and dehumanizing laws and policies that have created and exacerbated inequality in almost every sphere of life. These laws and policies are built into the fundamental structures of our societies—our systems of labor, housing, education, voting, healthcare, and justice. They are deeply entrenched, intertwined, and insidious, and they form the foundation for structural racism. Understanding how racism is built into various social structures and quantifying its long-term effects is fundamental to the antiracist work of dismantling these barriers.
- Emotional Tax
Learn what Emotional Tax is and how it affects both employees of color and organizations. In this Catalyst research series, we uncovered the reality that Asian, Black, Latinx, and multiracial employees pay an Emotional Tax at work when they feel they must be on guard to protect against bias. These harmful experiences occur both inside and outside the workplace and prevent employees from being able to truly thrive at work.- Featured in the podcast The Fix with Michelle King: Emotional Tax — A Problem Companies Can No Longer Afford to Ignore
- Ask Catalyst Express: Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Latin America, and the United States.
Engage in Tough Conversations
- Overcoming Conversation Roadblocks
Do you want to talk about gender or racial bias, but fear saying something insensitive or hurtful? Not sure how to respond to coworkers’ insensitive remarks? Here are common roadblocks to communication and how to overcome them. - We Can Talk About Race. and We Don’t Have to Be Perfect.
A couple weeks ago, a colleague asked me to share some thoughts on the topic of racism. My immediate reaction was, “That’s an uncomfortable topic. Not everyone wants to talk about it.” But we need to, if we are going to have a more equitable and inclusive society, or workplace. - Bank of America’s Let’s Get Real…® courageous conversations Supporter Exclusive
- Nationwide’s Catalyst for Change Associate Exchanges Supporter Exclusive
- Rockwell Automation’s Culture of Inclusion Supporter Exclusive
Take Stock of your Workplace Practices
- Vital Signs Supporter Exclusive
This Catalyst tool is a foundational methodology for understanding your workforce representation through a diversity lens. While your company may intend to have an equitable and inclusive workplace, the reality is commonly at odds with those intentions. The Vital Signs tool helps you measure the representation and progression of talent across your organization so you can diagnose hot spots, identify patterns, and take an organizational approach to unpacking sometimes unexamined systems.
Additional Resources
We also encourage you to learn as much as you can about institutional racism, discrimination, bias, as well as the experiences of marginalized groups in countries across the world. Be curious. Be reflective. Share your experiences. There is a great deal out there; here are some starters.
Fewer Than 10 Minutes
Podcast
Publications
- The Racism That Killed George Floyd Was Built in Britain The Guardian
- U.S. Businesses Must Take Meaningful Action Against Racism Harvard Business Review
- Officer Who Stood by as George Floyd Died Highlights Complex Asian American, Black Relations NBC News
- How the 1982 Murder of Vincent Chin Ignited a Push for Asian American Rights The History Channel
- Can We Be Bothered? How Racism Persists in the Workplace Personnel Today
- What White Americans Can Learn About Racism From the Coronavirus The Washington Post
Videos
- Bryan Stevenson’s Call to Action for CEOs Fortune
- A Conversation with Native Americans on Race The New York Times
Under an Hour
Podcasts
- A Decade of Watching Black People Die NPR
- For LGBTQ People of Color, Discrimination Compounds NPR
- How the Latinx Community Is Responding to Racism WBUR (article and podcast)
Publications
- AC 360° Study: African-American Children More Optimistic on Race Than Whites CNN
- Toward a Racially Just Workplace Harvard Business Review
- The Brutal History of Anti-Latino Discrimination in America The History Channel
- Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans Are on the Rise: Here’s What Activists, Lawmakers, and Police Are Doing to Stop the Violence USA Today
- Urgently Looking for Anti-Racism Training for Your Company? Start Here Medium
- Implicit Bias Test Project Implicit
Videos
- How We Can Make Racism a Solvable Problem—And Improve Policing TED Talk
- Our Immigration Conversation is Broken — Here’s How to Have a Better One TED Talk
A Day’s Worth of Learning
Interactive
- CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion: Discussion Guides, Quizzes, Videos CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion
Podcasts
- Colour Code The Globe and Mail
- Racism at Work Binna Kandola OBE
Publications
- Letter From a Region in My Mind James Baldwin in The New Yorker
- Racism at Work: The Danger of Indifference Binna Kandola OBE
- Talking About Race National Museum of African American History & Culture
- Afro-Descendants in Latin America: Toward a Framework of Inclusion World Bank
Videos
- A Conversation on Race The New York Times
- A Townhall on Redefining Safety and Security in the time of Coronavirus/COVID-19 The People’s Collective for Justice and Liberation
At Your Own Pace
Publications
- Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity Ella Bell and Stella Nkomo
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Robin DiAngelo
- raceAhead by Ellen McGirt Fortune (daily newsletter)
- We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape our Multicultural Future Deepa Iyer
- Hood Feminism Mikki Kendall
- The 1619 Project The New York Times
- Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race Derald Wing Sue
Videos
- What Is Systemic Racism? RaceForward
- Talks to Help You Understand Racism in America TED Talk Playlist
Return to Ask Catalyst Express.