Thank you to Tahira Majothi for writing this post. This is the second of two that she has written. Her first post was entitled – Black Lives Matter and the Careers Profession: Silence is not an Option

In my previous post, I provided the rationale for why Careers Services and Careers Professionals in Higher Education have a vested interest in tackling racial inequalities in relation to student experiences and employability.

In this post, I share ideas which are the culmination of both having worked for over 16 years across the Education sector, including schools, colleges and universities, together with many conversations with colleagues. I have collected many examples of best practice. I want to focus on how we tackle racial inequalities and some of my recommendations will be easier to enact than others. However, I hope my 10 step plan can help provide a consistent and ambitious framework for Careers Services.

Firstly, keep in mind reports about why Careers Services should not forget about BAME students during the Covid pandemic. Careers managers should routinely meet and collaborate with widening participation colleagues and student union equality and diversity teams, to review widening participation objectives and the Office for Students guidance. Then, mark from entry point, the numbers of Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic students entering university, engaging with welcome and careers activities and document the issues as they present in relation to retention and progression. Parallel to this, Careers Services should work closely with student societies and employers to capture changing recruitment trends, assessment and selection methods as well as outcomes. This research should form the roadmap for service priorities and deliverables.

Understand what matters to students and graduates

Research shows students and young people are socially engaged, invested in key issues such as social justice, ethical and inclusive companies as well as the environment and climate change.

A Pew Research Centre report noted Generation Z’s views on race, climate and role of government. The young people surveyed felt that politicians should do more to help people, were more aware of racial injustices and felt that black people were more likely to be treated unfairly.

We are not operating in a vacuum. We are working against changing dynamics and an increasingly interconnected diverse workforce. Thus, our roles become increasingly imperative in helping students and graduates be aware of their rights, find employers in alignment with their values, make informed career choices, feel empowered and ultimately reach career self-efficacy.

A Ten Step Plan for Careers Services and Professionals

• Listen and Learn.

Use this movement as a way to be educated on the issues, this might be by reading about the documented experiences and struggles for racial equality, attend Unconscious Bias training, speak up and challenge inequalities, reach out and listen to Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic colleagues to work on the best ways to support one another as well as students. This is also a time for strong leadership to issue unequivocal statements committed to challenging racial inequalities and working towards greater inclusivity.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) should be standing agenda items in team meetings, in service level agreements or in terms of reference when working with employers or faculties. In addition, a mandatory requirement as part of appraisals/PDRs for staff at all levels.

• Recognise potential microaggressions

These can be comments, slights or behaviours, which make Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic people, feel marginalised or ‘othered’. Paradoxically we celebrate black excellence across the arts, sport, music and fashion but how aware are we of the challenges faced by Black people in particular? As the BBC 1 Radio DJ Clara Amfo noted “One of my favourite thinkers is a woman called Amanda Seales, and she says this and I feel it deeply when she says ‘You cannot enjoy the rhythm and ignore the blues’. And I say that with my chest.”

Day-to-day microaggressions range from excluding people in discussions and decisions, making racial slurs, or stereotypical perceptions about culture, heritage, food, skin tone, hair, intellect, articulation etc

Microaggressions can leave people feeling lonely, exhausted, alienated even imposters in their own place of work, to be seen, but not necessarily heard. Take a look at #Blackintheoffice for examples shared by Black people of their office experiences.

I recall a former colleague early on in my career, who asked about my Indian heritage whilst I was in the staff kitchen having lunch with colleagues. I did not wish to talk about my background, so said I did not know. Upon returning to my desk, this colleague had emailed me a link from Wikipedia stating, “Here is your heritage if you want to read up on it!” copying in everyone else who was in the kitchen. I emailed them back to point out that it was completely the wrong region, culture and faith. Though I now wish, I had made clearer in stronger terms, how inappropriate this was.  

It’s ok to be curious about people’s backgrounds, but be respectful if people choose not to share. Similarly, this may apply to your work with students and graduates of differing cultural, social or religious backgrounds. It might be more prudent to ask about issues that matter i.e. experiences, values, aspirations etc rather than reductive questioning, when trying to build rapport.

• Commit to accountability by engaging with Race Equality Charters

Many Careers Services proudly add quality benchmarks (Athena SWAN, Stonewall, Living Wage, Green Impact, Disability Confident etc) to websites and email signatures but how much input do we have into these submissions? It is time for services to be transparent and accountable. Engage with your Institution’s Race Equality Charter, work with HR to map year on year breakdown of staff by role and protected characteristics such as gender, disability and ethnic background in accordance with GDPR guidance.

• Change biased recruitment processes

Avoid single gender or single ethnicity recruitment panels. If your service does not have high numbers of Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic staff, reach out to student societies, academics or other professional services staff to sit on panels and be part of the recruitment and selection process. Move away from like-for-like recruitment, which fosters a narrow outlook and culture.  

• Understand the significance of representation and diversity

Think about who you most easily connect with on social media and why? Do you try to keep your posts neutral and apolitical or have you considered that what you post might cause offence or upset colleagues in the current climate, due to reliving past experiences and traumas?

How diverse are your social or work circles? Do you cite Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic people in your careers presentations, talks, appointments and engagement with employers?

Use representative case studies, videos and images of academics, alumni (Home/EU/International), entrepreneurs or employers to connect with everyone in your audience.

Ask employers to recommend people from diverse backgrounds to attend careers fairs, talks, employer events, act as mentors, be part of joined up workshops etc. Work with student unions/societies, international careers and alumni teams and have students co-host events.

The impact representation can have, became all too poignant recently by the sudden death of multifaceted actor Chadwick Boseman, known for portraying black icons and for bringing to life Marvel’s critically acclaimed black superhero movie, Black Panther. Black Panther, a rich visual Afrofuturism tapestry celebrated black excellence, by a black director and predominantly black cast. Chadwick’s performance struck a chord with so many, underrepresented for so long. The significance of its storytelling long overdue, its cultural cinematic legacy assured around the world.

As Chadwick Boseman conveyed in his Screen Actors Guild speech “We all know what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured. Yet you are Young, Gifted and Black. We know what it’s like to be told there’s not a screen for you to be featured on, a stage for you to be featured on. We know what it’s like to be the tail and not the head. We know what it’s like to be beneath and not above...That is what we went to work with every day…because we knew … that we had something special that we wanted to give the world. That we could be full human beings in the roles that we were playing. That we could create a world that exemplified a world that we wanted to see.”

Not only is representation important, we must also highlight the benefits diverse communities bring to society and the economy. From the contribution migrants make to the UK’s tourism and health sectors to the estimated value of £20 billion international students bring to the UK economy.

Black and Minority Ethnic-run businesses contribute £25 billion to the UK economy but entrepreneurs still face barriers in terms of business start-up and expansion support. We need to encourage entrepreneurial potential. 

The McGregor-Smith Review into ‘Race in the workplace’ found that tackling racial disparities in the UK labour market could result in an annual economic boost worth £24bn to the UK Economy.

• Work closely with the SU, Disability and Counselling services

Run workshops around confidence building, networking, resilience and assertiveness as part of welcome activity. Responsive joined up sessions around careers and wellbeing support can help ease the transition for final year students due to leave university or aid retention of first year students thinking about dropping out. Another consideration might be Mental Health First Aider training for staff to recognise signs of anxiety and issues of wellbeing.

• Support the career development of staff and students

For Careers Services offering internships to their own graduates, reach out to other local institutions to offer rotations of interns to their institutions and vice versa. Students and graduates would gain an understanding of how careers services work in different HEIs and network with people from differing backgrounds. Our guidance credentials can then help boost the talent pipeline and encourage Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic students and graduates to consider applying to and working in Careers Services.

Work with alumni colleagues to run mentoring schemes connecting Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic students with professionals who can not only provide industry insights but also develop confidence-building skills such as public speaking, presentations and working well with others.

When planning activity, remember the importance of everyone having a seat at the table. To be a true ally, listen to Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic colleagues, if nothing else to avoid embarrassing optics that have plagued for example, advertising campaigns in relation to race matters. Taken further, senior management should engage in reverse mentoring processes and pair with Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic staff to listen to and learn from.

• Sponsor a Student Union award or create Careers awards for employer engagement with widening participation groups

Sponsor or arrange careers awards with Student Unions’ and professional associations to acknowledge employers who have made positive contributions to widening participation and inclusivity in their work.  

• Organise diverse talks on rights at work and inclusive work places

Coordinate careers-themed talks on inclusive workplaces, rights at work and advice on working in the UK or abroad. This can be done by inviting (International/EU/Home) Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic people e.g. alumni, keynote speakers, entrepreneurs, employers or researchers for a series of career conversations to reflect on career trajectories, setbacks, opportunities and successes. This would resonate with students and help them learn from disappointments, develop resilience and recognise their own inherent worth.

• Have a dedicated Race Equality Task Group at a professional association level

The Group could provide a space for Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic colleagues to come together and discuss experiences, ideas, training and development needs to help improve career prospects and representation. The Chair of the Group should sit on the Association’s Governing Board.

Professional Associations could consider making it a condition of their membership quality standards to recognise services that develop Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic talent.

The Race Equality Task Group could carry out research into diversity and development needs of careers staff as well as explore graduate destinations (by ethnicity) in greater depth. Resulting in the creation of shared resources, surveys & reports and best practice to be cascaded for the benefit of all careers services.

I believe these achievable steps will help futureproof careers services and allow us to be a valued source for all things pertaining to inclusive careers and employability. This would also allow services to have greater influence across institutions and with stakeholders. To repurpose Michelle Obama’s words “we have to meet this moment.”