Harmful impacts of racism and charity responses
It is clear from the survey that people experiencing racism are, in the main, left to deal with the harmful consequences themselves. It appears that, at least in our sample, there are relatively few formal and safely accessible channels of support available to people who have experienced racism. Of the 151 people responding to a question about whether they received support having experienced racism, only 40 reported that they had. This group were asked to list all sources of support: 31 people received support from work colleagues, 25 from family or friends, and only 9 people from Human Resources at their organisation. Just one person received support from their trade union – perhaps because of low rates of unionisation in the sector.
Unsurprisingly, in the online survey a high proportion of those experiencing racism – 77 per cent (116 out of 151 respondents) – stated that this had a negative or very negative impact on their health and emotional wellbeing. Furthermore, racism also affects professional progression. In our online survey, 63 per cent (94 out of 148) of respondents who had experienced racism said that it had a negative or very negative impact on their ‘desired career path’.
One participant in the online survey said that their involvement in the charity sector left them with: ‘increased insecurity and anxiety, depression [and] self-doubt’. Elsewhere, an interviewee also said that working in unwelcoming environments affected their performance:
There has [sic] been so many times I’ve been so frustrated in meetings where we’re having a conversation and I’m thinking something and somebody else says it. And my idea was there.
Interview – BAME charity employee
As detailed in the quote above, speaking up and being creative can feel dangerous for BAME people in a way that it is not for white British colleagues. In such environments, BAME people are less likely to shine and to be seen for their true abilities – and may end up (wrongly) blaming themselves for the situation. However, a workplace may provide little encouragement to a BAME person to be who they are and to express themselves without fear of sanction. A number of BAME participants spoke of organisational cultures where a BAME person can get a reputation for speaking out. Blending in can seem the safest course of action.
Following on from this, our survey shows that 50 per cent (246 people out of 490) of respondents felt that they needed to ‘tone down’ behaviour or to be on their ‘best behaviour’ in order to fit in in the charity sector. As one respondent put it:
I haven’t always been able to be my whole self but this has allowed me access and to progress perhaps where
Online survey
others like me have not had the same opportunities.
Another participant stated that:
I’ve had to overcompensate my personality to ensure I make management feel comfortable.
Online survey
But this strategy of trying to ‘fit in’ can also further damage health and wellbeing, because being ‘undercover’ takes emotional energy (Yoshino, 2006). Being BAME, being oneself and making career progress in the charity sector appear to be at odds. And so, there can be an impossible, unfair and costly trade-off for BAME people between career and wellbeing, to a degree unlikely to exist for white British charity people.
An additional form of harm to BAME people surfaced in our research. This is where BAME people are in some ways expected to ‘deal with the problem’. This ’BAME person’s burden’ can occur in a few ways. For example, BAME people may be expected to take the lead on internal diversity work. This is a complex area, and seeking input from BAME people is part of the answer. However, as was raised in interviews and our online survey, BAME people asked to play a role should be given commensurate authority to make change – otherwise they are bound to fail. Furthermore, it is unfair if these efforts (inside or outside of one’s organisation) come on top of already full workloads or without recompense:
I do some, like, training and workshops on race and racism and the number of people that expect me to do it for free because, well, ‘surely, it’s in your best interest to get rid of racism’.
Interview – BAME charity employee
Efforts to build diversity and counter racism should centre those most impacted by current failings. However, it cannot be done ‘on the cheap’, nor can it be a substitute for the engagement and buy-in of the most senior people in an organisation.
A further way in which BAME people can be additionally burdened in a racialised context comes from hearing about the personal virtue of white colleagues:
You know, you get the responses. I’m not racist. Well, that’s not good enough. Just saying you’re not racist is not good enough. What are you doing to combat racism?
Interview – BAME charity employee
Such situations can be fatiguing for BAME people because they can feel like an attempt by some white people to exonerate themselves from racism without really helping the situation. Even worse, sometimes BAME people are perversely expected by white colleagues who act in a racially problematic or racist way to make them feel better about the situation. This was described by one BAME interviewee as a case where BAME people are ‘supposed to make you feel better for being offensive’.
Harms take other forms too – with more direct career impacts. For example, if a BAME person has damaging work experiences, is held back and does not advance in one charity then their career prospects, professional development and earnings suffer in their existing organisation and their ability to get other, better jobs outside of the organisation is constrained. And this can lead to a hard-to-break-out-of cycle, where BAME people are over-qualified and under-utilised in various different roles (McGregor-Smith, 2017).
There is perhaps another knock-on effect from experiences of racism in the charity sector. They can, unsurprisingly, lead to scepticism about whether charities are truly committed to diversity. One participant in the online survey expressed the opinion that diversity in their charity was primarily for show:
BAME staff were called upon for photo opportunities to appear more diverse to the public.
Online survey
This feeling is not simply world-weariness or cynicism; there is a genuine sense of having been let down by the charity sector.
I believe this [racism] is an issue across all sectors, as BAME candidates always have to work twice as hard. What I think is problematic in the third sector, is that they feel they are progressive by default; therefore, race is not an issue and therefore ignored.
Online survey
And so, in a highly racialised context, BAME people can become estranged from charities because of the mismatch between the sector’s professed ethos and the realities of BAME people’s experiences. In line with this, the online survey revealed that 64 per cent of respondents (285 people out of 448) agreed with the statement that the charity sector fails to live up to its stated values and principles in their treatment of BAME people.
This is a sentiment that will take some time and imagination to turn around – an issue to which we turn next.
