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Today @NCVO have released a series of blogs on our equity, diversity and inclusion work. I'll be sharing some of the blogs here as well as my own thoughts and reflections.
This is the result of a six-month process led by @PariDhillon and her team including Kat Stark and @hannathomas. They helped us to create safe/uncertain spaces where people could share their experiences of discrimination, sometimes for the first time.
They also supported and coached us to speak truth to power and did so directly through coaching senior leadership. As external coaches, they could say the things we couldn't say.
We couldn't have done it without them. The burden on us was disproportionate anyway, but would have been even more so without paid, expert external support.
The blog from our EDI working group https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2020/08/05/our-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-work-proceeding-at-the-pace-of-trust/ reflects on how important those safe/uncertain spaces were and how far there still is to go.
The work also showed how important it is to have thriving staff networks - for solidarity, but also to speak out when individuals didn't feel safe to do so. Our BAME network has shown incredible leadership throughout this period.
Here are our reflections as a network: https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2020/08/05/bame-network-reflections-on-our-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-work/
No one in NCVO's BAME network is in the top three salary grades. We have led this work entirely from below. But the quality of leadership in our BAME network rivals most senior leadership teams and I am sure is better than some. Overlook BAME talent at your peril.
We have had moments of real despair during this process, where it felt as though nothing would change despite the effort and pain we poured into it. Today shows that there is a commitment to change among both senior leadership and Trustees.
As in this blog from @karlwilding https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2020/08/05/equity-diversity-and-inclusion-at-ncvo-what-we-need-to-do-next/ and this one from our Chair of Trustees, Anne Heal: https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2020/08/05/hardwiring-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-into-our-governance-at-ncvo/.
This gives us a level of accountability. Now it's all about making sure the internal actions fit the public words. I am more hopeful of this than I have been for some time.
Turning now towards some more personal reflections. First, I have had to learn a lot, and quickly. I was not an expert on equalities issues when we started this work, and I'm still not, but I have a lot more awareness, empathy and criticality than I did.
This is a brilliant forum on which to learn. There are so many incredible activists and educators giving of their time and expertise. I have benefited so much. These include: @CharitySoWhite @sccceo @MrPranPatel @Penny_Ten @DiLeed @educatormissm @ASTsupportAAli
I have also learned a tremendous amount from my colleagues, especially those on the EDI working group and in the BAME network, and especially when they have challenged me and pushed me to see my own prejudices. It takes a good friend to tell you when you're being an idiot.
Perhaps my biggest lesson has been learning when to be at the front and when to step back and give people space to step into their own power. I know in theory that the best way to lead is to trust people, but I don't always do it well in practice.
My colleagues and friends on the EDI working group and BAME network are amazing leaders. I got in their way sometimes and when I got out of it they were just incredible. And yet there were other times when stepping up and doing what was needed, because it was needed, was right.
Finally... doing anti-oppression work is painful. It pushed me to the point of burnout, more than once. Standing in the face of oppression, denial, fragility, every day is the hardest thing I've ever done, despite all the support.
