Getting Ahead Whilst Being Black
The marvellous, moving seminar ‘Getting Ahead Whilst being Black’ hosted by Professor Robert Livingston of Occupational Psychology at the University of Westminster highlighted the nature and causes of discrimination facing ethnic minorities in the workplace and society, and how these dynamics differ in the US and the UK.
The answer to why this still occurs in today’s modern world is some what complex; not only are there unconscious psychological aspects to it but there is also a lack of knowledge around the subject matter. Dr. Robert Livingston kindly shared with us how to identify and decrease these barriers, what implementations we as a society and leaders need to do once it has been identified or as he put it ‘how to change the game’ and how to overcome these barriers.
Dr. Livingston’s presentation was simply phenomenal; he defined the different types of black people as either ‘extreme’ or ‘moderate’. Therefore, there is a need for black people to be good at what they do in order to be half as good as their counterparts and when you are ‘extremely’ good you come as an advantage as you supersede the expectation of people due to the low expectations set for black people. However, unfortunately a majority of black people fall in the ‘moderate’ category and this is when unconscious bias comes in.
We all know the benefits of social networks however Dr. Livingston identifies two types of networking, the clique and the broker. The clique network is people that stick together and only socialise among themselves leaving less room for diversity. The broker is someone who knows different types of people therefore has a range of diverse people in their network. He also discussed the notion of having mentorship and sponsorship and the difference between the two. In minority communities they tend to be over mentored (advice and guidance) and under sponsored (power and access) and in order to climb up the corporate ladder it is vital to have a balance of both or more sponsors who do not ‘look like you’.
As a society and members of the labour workforce, its is crucial for women to expand the depth and breath of their social network, move around in different companies after three to four years in order to increase upward mobility and adapt or compromise yourself whilst maintaining values and morals. In addition, Dr. Livingston advised that in order to not get back lash or to receive less backlash that black women must not be outward assertive.
This event was not only inspiring but the amount of powerful, influential ‘brokers’ that ‘looked like me’ was just amazing!!! Find out when the next one is and GO GO GO!!!
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Lexy Boahene
