For workplaces that care about diversity and inclusion, this is an overdue and extremely encouraging moment. It’s also a daunting one. While there’s an historic amount of momentum on the issue, it is inevitable that without real action, little will change. But how do we even begin to unwind centuries of oppression, or just root out the untold number of microaggressions that shape our workdays?
This newsletter can’t tell you how to do all that, but it can tell you how to start, thanks to the sound advice of the experts at our Quartz at Work (from home) event last week on how to build an anti-racist company.
Watch the replay of our June 11 workshop and let Steve Pemberton, the chief HR officer at Workhuman, share seven ways non-Black people can get the context they need to make the leap from agreeing that things ought to change to actually changing things. Let Melissa Theiss, executive sponsor for inclusion and diversity at Quorum, explain how even very small companies can move the needle on inclusion, from the policies they set early on to the language they use in the workplace each day.
Let Lyndon Taylor, head of Heidrick & Struggles’ global diversity and inclusion practice, explain how to invite Black employees to the table now without overburdening them (remember, your Black colleagues did not create your diversity problem, and it is not on them to solve it). And hear Nadia Owusu, from the economic-justice group Living Cities, make the case for why the workplace policies you rush to create now are ultimately not as important as making sure that all of your workplace policies include a consideration of who benefits, who is harmed, and what is needed to ensure that the policies are implemented equitably.
After one hour, you won’t have your workplace’s diversity and inclusion problems solved. But you’ll have plenty of actionable ideas to set you on your way.—Heather Landy
+ Access the full replay and a more detailed recap of the workshop here. For more Quartz at Work coverage on diversity and inclusion, visit our Power in Progress obsession.
Five (other) things we learned this week
Being LGBTQ is no longer a fireable offense in US workplaces.
Business schools are equipped to help the tourism, transit, and retail industries.
A better workplace conversation about race starts with a clear goal.
Adidas employees say the brand’s inaction on racism starts at the top.
We are all in the class of Covid-19, graduation TBD.
30-second case study
Last week, Zoom Video acknowledged it shut down several online commemorations of lives lost 31 years ago during the Tiananmen Square crackdown, and suspended the accounts of a US-based group of exiled Chinese activists and two individual activists, all at the request of the Chinese government.
The US-based videoconferencing company says there were four meetings flagged by Chinese authorities, three of which were shut down because a large number of participants were based in mainland China, and one which went uncensored because none of the attendees were located in China. (Except in Hong Kong, Beijing bans people from holding vigils or making references online to the June 4, 1989, massacre.)
The takeaway: Like Apple and other major multinationals doing business in China, Zoom has a tricky needle to thread. Dissecting the company’s statement on the matter, Quartz’s Mary Hui concludes that “within a span of a few short paragraphs, [Zoom] simultaneously chastised governments for censoring their own citizens, while pledging to improve its own censorship mechanisms to better address censorship requests from different states.” In the process, she notes, Zoom has given the world “a rare glimpse into how Chinese censorship of American firms takes place.” Read the full story here.
It’s a fact
45% of US employers have yet to announce a return-to-work date. That’s according to a survey as of May 20 from the Society of Human Resource Management.
A quick poll
Is your company celebrating Juneteenth?
Yes, as a day of education in the workplace.
No, there’s no formal recognition of the holiday here.
I don’t know what Juneteenth is.
And a quick poll recap
Twice in six weeks we’ve asked how you feel about heading back to the office. Our read of the responses: It’s sinking in that the old “normal” isn’t really coming back, and people are still generally freaked out by (but slightly more open to) the idea of working in an office building during a pandemic.
Words of wisdom
“[T]he business community has fought back at nearly every turn—blunting anti-LGBTQ bills before they see the light of day, signing amicus briefs in support of LGBTQ civil rights, and more—and the impact of their allyship will continue to be felt within their four walls and in the public square.”—Deena Fidas, chief program and partnerships officer at Out & Equal, praising allies in the corporate world after the US Supreme Court outlawed employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
✦ Special to Quartz members ✦
Young researchers try to pack their education with research to increase their odds in the competitive field of academia. Covid-19 threw a wrench in those plans. Quartz members can read how Covid-19 is destabilizing an entire generation of young scientists in our field guide on science’s great pandemic pivot. Subscribers to The Memo can get 40% off the first-year Quartz membership price of $99 by using the code QZFLASHSALE. Sign up for membership here.
ICYMI
How to maintain a predominantly white workplace. In this 10-step guide from our archive, Compass Talent Group founder Leniece Flowers Brissett shows you how easy it is to ensure your workplace remains free of meaningful diversity. For example: “Rely on current board members to refer future board members (and c-suite executives) from their own homogeneous networks.” It’s all satire, of course, but it also happens to be completely true.
You got The Memo!
Our best wishes for a productive and creative day. Please send any workplace news, comments, helpful workshops, or office reopening dates to work@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. This week’s edition of The Memo was produced by Heather Landy and Katherine Bell.