Developed in partnership with nuwave Equity Corporation and nuwave Agency 

VBR Racial Equity

The Vermont Business Roundtable, like many other leadership organizations, has identified racial equity as a necessary lens through which to view our current and lasting impact on our state. Establishing fair and equal access to building prosperity for businesses and individuals is not as simple as removing explicitly exclusionary language or policy. It requires actively addressing existing disparities in our education systems, our workforce, and our communities – and what we know is that by addressing these disparities there is a collective benefit for all Vermonters.

And while our business community has ramped up DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policy efforts, and our elected officials have shored up our laws (The Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act) there is more discussion to be had and, more importantly, actions to be taken.

VBR is anti-racism.

The Roundtable is committed to creating, developing, and sustaining a Vermont environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion, with the goal of eliminating institutionalized racism. This is why VBR created our Racial Equity Committee (REC).

We understand this takes time, and it all starts with listening, reading, watching, learning, sharing…But it doesn’t stop there. Leadership is local – whether in our businesses or in our communities.

Failing to address equity is bad business.

Equity and diversity are central to the health and vitality of our communities, but it goes beyond doing the right thing. The bottom-line benefits of racial equality and diversity in the workplace are significant:

• Employee recruitment and retention –  Studies show 70% of jobseekers now want to work for a firm that promotes diversity ⁵ and inclusion. Conversely, an organization that appears to tolerate racist behavior creates a lack of psychological safety for its employees, leading to disengagement, lower productivity, and a higher staff turnover. ⁶ 

• Creativity and decision-making – Diversity is proven to boost innovation and, as a result, companies’ financial performance. A European Institute for Managing Diversity report notes, it can help firms move away from “limited unilateral thinking” and guide them towards discovering new products, markets and ways of doing business.

• Financial performance
  • A McKinsey report found companies that performed worst on diversity ¹ were almost 30% more likely to underperform on profitability.
  • Racism Has an Economic Cost, Atlanta Fed President Warns ²
    • Specifically, the study came up with $16 trillion in lost GDP by noting four key racial gaps between African Americans and whites:
      • $13 trillion lost in potential business revenue because of discriminatory lending to African American entrepreneurs, with an estimated 6.1 million jobs not generated as a result,
      • $2.7 trillion in income lost because of disparities in wages suffered by African Americans,
      • $218 billion lost over the past two decades because of discrimination in providing housing credit, and
      • $90 billion to $113 billion in lifetime income lost from discrimination in accessing higher education.
    • The research that diversity in the workplace powers innovation and financial performance ³ is mounting. Some studies indicate that companies with pro diversity policies performed better, and had greater resilience during the 2008 financial crisis, and the reason is more diverse companies have greater levels of innovation.

• Employee attendance, health, and productivity – Racial discrimination and workplace bullying can lead people to smoke or drink heavily as a coping mechanism, according to a study from the US National Institute for Health. ⁷ In addition, it can lead to an increase in problems like obesity and high blood pressure, as well as depression and anxiety, and counterproductive behaviors like leaving work early, arriving late, or not completing work on time.

• Brand (customer) loyalty – 64% of consumers globally will buy from or boycott a brand ⁸ based on its position on a social or political issue, according to an Edelman report. A more recent Edelman poll, carried out after the death of George Floyd in the US, discovered thatAmericans expect brands to play a key part in addressing systemic racism: ⁹ 60% said they would buy from or boycott a brand based on its reaction to the Floyd protests. This figure rose to 70% for the 18-34 age group.

And being actively an anti-racist workplace ultimately benefits everyone – regardless of race.

We get the “why,” but the “how” feels huge.

Race-related issues are typically addressed by companies with policies and procedures that are compliant with legal requirements. These efforts, clearly well-intentioned, are only the first steps towards creating a business culture and workforce that truly embraces equality.

As business leaders, here are things you can do to actively advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace:

• Bring in expert help! (Abundant Sun | CQ Strategies | The Creative Discourse Group |  nuwave Equity Corp. | Pinnacle Coaching | Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity)
• Provide internal & external mentorship opportunities for employees
• Set organizational goals and KPIs tied to DEI
• Measure and track DEI related data
• Diversify your marketing materials
• Volunteer and financially support diverse community programs
• Diversify your supply chain and vendors to include BIPOC, minority, and underrepresented community owned businesses. This can also be industry specific
• Create a DEI statement reflective of your values and commitments
• Attend and support community events that celebrate diversity in all forms
• Partner with local services to source talent from underrepresented communities
• Implement zero tolerance policies
• Create safe environments for your employees to voice concerns

 The benefits of racial equality and diversity in the workplace are significant, and include enhanced:

SOURCES:

1. McKinsey & Company — “Diversity wins: How inclusion matters” (May 19, 2020 | Report)
2. NPR, All Things Considered, Emma Bowman (July 15, 2020)
3. McKinsey & Company — “Delivering through Diversity” (January 18, 2018 | Report) by Vivian Hunt, Lareina Yee, Sara Prince and Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle
4. Fast Company — “Want A More Innovative Company? Simple: Hire A More Diverse Workforce” (1-12-2018) by Ben Schiller
5. Cision PR Newswire — “70% of Job Seekers Value a Company’s Commitment to Diversity When Evaluating Potential Employers“ News provided by The Manifest (June 18, 2020)
6. Academy of Management — “Black Employees Matter, but Can They Take a Knee at Work?” (July 9, 2019) by Angelica Leigh and Shimul Melwani
7. CECOM/Equal Employment Opportunity Office — “Effects of discrimination in the workplace” (February 12, 2015) by Neslie A. Etheridge
8. Edelman — “Two-Thirds Of Consumers Worldwide Now Buy On Beliefs” by Richard Edelman (October 2, 2018
9. Edelman — “A Universal Demand For Change” by Richard Edelman (June 9, 2020)

Want to Read, Listen, or Watch more?

Watching:

12 Years a Slave  | 13^th  |  42  |  Selma  |  When They See Us  |  American Son |  Dear White People  |  If Beale Street Could Talk  |  Moonlight  |  Fruitvale Station  |  Just Mercy  |  I am not your Negro (Documentary on James Baldwin)  |  The Hate U Give  |  Loving  |  The Help  |  Hidden Figures

Others: 50 Movies that Address the History of Racism

Listening (Podcasts):
Seeing White  |  NPR’s Code Switch  |  Yo, Is This Racist?  |  New York Times’ Nice White Parents  |  Asian Enough  |  Identity Politics

Reading:

Toni Morrison – The Bluest Eye (Index of Titles)

Maya Angelou – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Index of Titles)

James Baldwin – Notes of a Native Son (Index of Titles)

Isabel Wilkerson – The Warmth of Other Suns  |  Caste (Author’s Site)

Ta-Nehisi Coates – Between the World and Me (Author’s Site)

Ijeoma Oluo – Here’s What You’ve Missed  |  So You Want to Talk About Race (Author’s Site)

Desmond Cole – The Skin We’re In – A Year of Black Resistance and Power (Publisher’s Site)

Reni Eddo-Lodge – Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Author’s Site)

Layla F. Saad – Me and White Supremacy (Author’s Site)

Web Articles:
Scaffolding of Anti-Racism Resources (University of Minnesota Crookson)

What is Systemic Racism Anyway? (Andrew Koppelman, USA Today, 9.23.20)

26 Charts to Show How Systemic Racism is the U.S. (Insider)

100 Statistics that Prove Systemic Racism is a Thing (Kelly Burton, PhD, LinkedIn, 7.13.20)

Study Suggests Bias Against ‘Black’ Names on Resumes (Bill Leonard, SHRM, 2.1.03)

A Business Case for Social Justice (Brand Finance, 1.15.21)

What Companies are Doing to Fight Systemic Racism (World Economic Forum, 6.24.20)

Best Practices or Best Guesses? Assessing the Efficacy of Corporate Affirmative Action and Diversity Policies (Kalev, Dobbins, Kelly, American Sociological Review, 8.1.06)

Do Your Diversity Initiatives Promote Assimilation or Inclusion? (Jacobs, Quartarone, Hemingway, Harvard Business Review, 2.2.22)

Delivering Through Diversity (McKinsey & Co.)

More Evidence that Company Diversity Leads to Better Profits (Forbes, 1.25.18)

We are continually updating this page with fresh information and welcome your suggested resources.
We invite you to also visit our Racial Equity Committee page to read VBR’s Commitments to Action and for our previously curated resources and Visit our 5th ELS Page for media and resources related to author of The Sum of Us and keynote speaker, Heather McGhee.