Maritza Cruz, director of racial and gender equity at the YWCA Central Massachusetts
Updated: August 3, 2020
10 things
10 Things I know about ... Committing to standing against racism
By Maritza Cruz
There are two pandemics ravaging our nation, COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic of racism. Both have devastated the lives of people of color and affected local economies.
We have banded together as a community to support those impacted by COVID-19, and we have supported our local businesses to survive through this crisis. Yet, we have not begun to address the ongoing public health crisis racism perpetuates throughout our society and in our workplaces. Companies must confront racism systemically, addressing the structural, cultural and social mechanics of their organizations. The current moment has the potential to be pivotal in addressing systemic racism if corporate leaders have the wherewithal to commit to the following strategies:
10) Commit: To addressing the injury done to employees of color through overt and microaggressions faced inside and outside of your organization.
9) Commit: To providing ongoing racial equity education for members of your board, executive team, and staff to better understand systemic racism and the opportunities for racial equity growth, development, impact, and advancement.
8) Commit: To equitable human resource practices to ensure you are addressing unconscious racial bias in hiring and corporate advancement.
7) Commit: To fostering a safer and more welcoming workplace by implementing a no tolerance policy for racism.
6) Commit: To establishing a racial equity committee of racially diverse employees who meet regularly with the CEO, providing granular feedback on racial equity initiatives, identifying company and industry specific actions addressing systemic racism; and self-accountability.
5) Commit: To speaking out. The default response by white people not directly impacted by racism is to remain silent and avoid talking about race for fear of being seen as racist. The CEO is responsible for conveying concern for all employees.
4) Commit: To affirming the rights of employees of color by providing space to come together for reflection and conversation.
3) Commit: To leaning in when approaching uncomfortable conversations about racism, and when your world views, positions, or advantages are questioned or challenged.
2) Commit: To accountability in taking a stand against racism. Articulate how progress is tracked and communicated throughout the company.
1) Building the capacity to be anti-racist takes commitment, time and hard work. Talking about racism is difficult, but necessary. Let us help.
Maritza Cruz is the director of Racial and Gender Equity at the YWCA Central Massachusetts. Reach her at mcruz@ywcacm.org.
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