Forty years after Britain's first race relations act, employers are starting to follow US firms by sending workers on race awareness courses. But instead of smoothing office relations, such lessons could be inflaming tensions that never used to exist. Jane Elliott is white, short and tough. For more than 20 years, she has run her day-long workshops in racism-awareness training, US-style. Her approach is uncompromising, brusque and authoritative. She tells her captive audience, she is their "resident BITCH for the day - Being In Total Control Honey". The programme, run and devised by Elliott herself, aims to give "nice blue-eyed white folks the opportunity to find out how it feels to be something other than white". In it she divides participants into two groups; blue-eyed and brown-eyed. The "blues" are mocked, humiliated and abused by the "browns", urged on by Elliott. Posters are pinned up around the room saying things like "Would you want your daughter to marry a Bluey?" and "Blue eyes make good secretaries". The blues are told this emotional distress is what black people experience throughout their lives. Elliot's programme is just one of thousands in the US, and has just been launched in the UK. Raising awareness Since the start of the 1990s there's been a huge rise in the number of consultants, courses, videos and books dedicated to diversity in the workplace in the US. This growth has largely been a defence against escalating numbers of race discrimination cases. According to a recent survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, nearly 70% of organisations have diversity policies in place, in which training plays a vital part. "You've got an enormous group of people from different ethnic backgrounds... if you can know more about them, you'll do so much better," says Alick Miskin of consultancy Grassroots. Most diversity training has a lighter touch than Jane Elliot's course, designed to make people aware of racial differences and understand cultural or religious customs. But many courses go further, "encouraging people to reflect on the impact of what they say," says trainer Tess Lees-Finch. She asks participants to think about times when they themselves have felt excluded or offended, and to share these emotions with the group. The argument goes that an emotional release can waken people to the impact of their words. Blonde jokes She even asks participants to consider whether apparently inoffensive things like cracking "blonde jokes" ought to be tolerated. The theory is that if people are careful about what they say, workplace relations will be more relaxed and productive. "We don't have at present very good long-term outcome measures to see what kinds of effects these training initiatives are having, if indeed any effects at all," says Louise Pendry of Exeter University In fact, some courses could even do more harm than good. Tracie Stewart, a professor at Georgia University who looks into the causes and effects of ethnic stereotyping, says people turn the anger on themselves because of their own prejudices. In some courses, she says, participants' frustration about their inability to change can even lead to a "backlash" or "victim blame", where they actually begin to harbour resentment against other minority groups for the way they feel. Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, a cultural historian in the US, argues awareness of racism has made people increasingly anxious about not wanting to cause offence. This, in turn, drives the need for more instruction in the correct "racial etiquette". More harm than good Even the mildest incidents and jokes can be deemed offensive and inflate tensions in the office. Diversity training, it's claimed, actually reinforces the sense of difference between people rather than bringing them closer. One fear is that ethnic minorities may become over-sensitised about the problem of racism, feeling they need to be constantly on guard. One black female participant called Natasha, was told during a workshop that when shopkeepers do not put change into her hand, this is an example of blatant racism.She resolved to say something in future. But it's far from clear that such a minor incident is a racist act, and in fact, research suggests it happens to lots of people, black and white. Sceptics say the message of diversity training is that racism is in the eye of the beholder. Put simply: if you think an act is racist, then it automatically is. The result is a heightened sense of grievance, even when it is not warranted. Worse still, commentators suggest it could mean genuine cases of racial discrimination get swamped in a mire of less credible claims. It is hard to judge what the effect of diversity training is likely to be in the UK. We may like to think that as a nation we are better at handling racial issues than Americans. At the very least, we should consider the American lesson, say observers. If the spiralling millions of dollars spent in court on racial discrimination cases is anything to go by, the cumulative effect of diversity training could be more tension in the workplace, not less. The comments below are
shown just as they appeard beneath this article on the BBC website - Monday,
12 December 2005 I am actually quite shocked by this programme as it is in itself inherently
racist as it implies that white people cannot understand prejudice. As
a white person I know that racism exists in many forms. I grew up in Ireland
where to be a British non-Catholic led to frequent minor abuse, occasionally
physical threats. I am in a mixed-race relationship and know that some
of my girlfriend's family have a much harder time with this than my family.
I have travelled lots and have found myself the subject of respect, revulsion,
envy and curiosity in equal measures. On a recent trip to Singapore were
my girlfriend was living, racial comments were made about me as a white
person. So it works all ways. It's not nice, but this is something we
all need to confront, and singling out the 'blueys' will only make it
worse. We've just had our office party. Every year we have Christmas 'Awards'
- an opportunity to have a light-hearted joke about someone locking themselves
in a toilet, or turning up in blue jacket but brown trousers. This year
we couldn't as our new 'Diversity requirements' meant we couldn't take
a chance and 'offend' someone who could then sue us. Crazy. Ms Elliot's own description of "nice blue-eyed white folks"
belies the fact that this training is itself racist. This is tantamount
to saying that if you're white then you are somehow a racist in embryo
if not a fully fledged bigot. My non-white colleagues and I don't need
lessons in how to treat each other with respect and I am sick to death
of do-gooders with dubious motives trying to sanitise and censor our society.
"Do as you would be done by" is the only rule you need to remember
when working with anyone. When I was at junior school, the whole year group participated in the
blue-eyed/brown-eyed lesson. It was interesting and useful as a general
introduction to racism/sexism. I've often stood in a queue at the till and observed the behaviour of
the cashier. White cashiers tend to put the change into the hands of white
customers more often than they do into the hands of dark-skinned customers.
This holds true even when you correct for factors like sex and age. To
claim otherwise is to deny the existence of low-level racism in the UK. When I was about 12 we had a policeman come in to school to talk about
racism. He showed us a photo of a white man in police uniform running
after a black man in jeans. He asked us what we thought was going on.
Everyone- including a black child that he pointedly asked -said that it
was a criminal being chased by a policeman. We were then told that we
had made a "racist assumption" as actually the black bloke was
a plain-clothes police officer. No-one raised the point that we would
have probably said the exact same thing if the plain clothes officer had
been white and a load of 12 year olds were told that they were racist.
How helpful was that? ".. if you think an act is racist, then it automatically is."
As an Asian I find the above remark the laziest kind of thinking possible.
Basically it gives carte-blanche to Asian/Black people to take offence
at whatever they like without any come back. I've come across many Asians
who were happy to shout 'racist' when their work was judged below par.
The fact the work may well be below par never occurred to them. Having
been attacked by skinheads & getting verbal abuse - believe me, it's
very easy to tell when someone doesn't like you! You cannot over-estimate the damage to race relations that "diversity
awareness" training is causing in this country. It's having the opposite
effect to that intended, causing divisions, resentment, and an increase
in judgements based on race, where previously such things were actually
quite rare. How do I know this? I was involved in putting together a diversity
"toolkit" for a government department, and saw first-hand the
effect it had as it was rammed down the throats of the staff. Racism is a product of social and cultural conditioning. Rather than
focus on the differences that exist we should be focussing on the similarities.
We naturally respect and trust those people that we identify with. Unfortunately
there will always be a significant minority that don't want to make that
step. As a white middle-class professional I am considered to be in the
elite group - I don't see it that way and am thankful for many friends
across all backgrounds. This woman sounds like PC gone mad. I think I'd end up walking out of
one of her sessions - & I'm supposed to be an ethnic minority! What
is needed is the good old-fashioned values of politeness, consideration
for others, and tolerance. And that goes for all parties. not just the
apparent 'white, middle-class' Oh how I wish I was going on one these diversity courses, apart from
the time off work I would love to pick holes in all of the assumptions
of the trainers! There is also another side effect with this kind of attitude I encounter
regularly: People that are anxious not to be deemed racist are actually
more forgiving towards (minor) transgressions of etiquette by people of
colour than towards white people. This gives off wrong signals about what
discrimination really is (in fact I think the people who do that are racist). Interesting point on the shopkeeper with change and hand contact. I lived
in Manchester and experienced this on a daily basis in our local newsagent
who refused to put change in my hand. He was a middle-aged Asian and I
was a young white female teenager. I don't know his why but I think it
may be dangerous and "blinkered" to suggest that these were
racist incidents. Very interesting article though. I agree that Diversity Training goes too far. In fact, it goes so far
it can cause offence to other cultures. In the US some of my Latin American
colleagues are refusing to do diversity training as part of it bans kissing
on the cheek as a greeting - this is part of the Latin culture in the
same way that bowing is to Japan and hand shaking is to the UK. I've always been told that racism is wrong, and I agree. But I find myself
trying to be too sensitive sometimes, too acutely aware of my whiteness
and their non-whiteness, and really it just makes things a lot worst.
It makes me think of people more in terms of their race, not who they
are. I am not saying people should not talk about race issues or confront
them; just that there is a risk of alienating/racialising people further
if it's not done the right way. This is an example of companies trying to see if two wrongs really do
make a right. I don't doubt that some people are racist in the workplace,
but punishing many because of the actions of a few is ludicrous. Diversity training creates problems by emphasizing differences and by
making humour unacceptable. Instead of teaching people not to make 'blonde'
jokes, how about teaching blondes to have a sense of humour? And for what
it's worth, I am a blonde, and I grew up as part of a minority group disliked
and resented by the majority. I am white. I see the need for laws and the CRE and I am not naive enough
to think that everything is perfect. This looks to me a bit like a money-making
scam. Some people and organisations are so politically correct today that
they are as gullible as some pensioners sadly are, when faced by a thief
in a peaked cap claiming he is inspecting for gas leaks and then rifling
through the house and stealing money. I have been required to attend various diversity training classes in
the US. Sadly, diversity has a very limited, and politically correct,
meaning for the people conducting such classes. I worked for many years
at a large electronics company that had employees from all over the world.
We could not get the trainers to accept that not all Europeans are the
same. Anyone who was not an African American was lumped into the same
group, even our colleagues from India, and told we were racist by definition!
Naturally, this did not go down well with the non-African American participants. I have been a victim of racist taunts most my life, but I have learnt
to accept this because I am aware that people will always be ignorant,
childish and self opinionated, but the worst thing is when people in the
workplace who are racist who do not make racist comments, (for the obvious
reasons to keep their job), but it doesn't stop them from making peoples
lives more difficult. The government should therefore look at ways to
solve this issue. Perhaps conduct a psychological test on employees, similarly
to the CRB check, before employing such people. I once told someone to stop lecturing me on racism as I was not racist.
Her reply was "That's what I am trying to get through to you, not
being racist is also a form of racism" If anyone can explain that
I would be grateful. If I had to undergo that type of training, I would consider it inappropriate,
and from what I've read on this site, would walk out. I can't see how
this particular type of affrontive course can help. I'm totally against
racism, sexism and ageism, but leave this to the Americans. Their social
model works for them. This kind of training will only serve to highlight the differences in
race and thus increase tensions on all sides. Such training should focus
on the simple fact that we are all Human Beings and as such the colour
of skin, nationality or belief systems are irrelevant. We should all respect
each other regardless. As an ethnic minority myself (African) I do not
want non-Africans to have to think twice before they can approach me or
say something to me! I am a 'victim' of a sexual harassment seminar and I thought when I read
your headline that I would finally see my situation described. But you
haven't got it quite right. What happened in our office was that everyone
was required to attend the "seminar" which did not use any of
the controversial tactics you mention, but was simply a straightforward,
low-key presentation of what legally constitutes sexual harassment and
how to avoid it. Nevertheless, the men in our office made no secret of
not wanting to "have their time wasted" by having to attend
such a thing, and blamed "all the women around here" for the
fact that they were to be put through it. After the seminar they made
a game of skating up to the legal line without ever doing anything actionable.
I agree that these seminars do more harm than good, but I disagree strongly
that it is because they create a problem where none exists. Rather, the
problem IS there and those who have the sorts of attitudes that lead to
antisocial behaviour don't like being confronted about it, and the seminars
are a very clumsy and ineffective way of dealing with it. I attended a cultural awareness course for one of my employers in 1999,
but it was nothing new then and I don't think it is today. Working in
an international environment, learning what customs can offend or insult
business contacts from other countries is invaluable training, and I didn't
feel at all that we were being taught how to handle people based on their
colour, but rather on the culture of the country they were coming from.
|
|
|
