by Michael Burkart | Jan 26, 2021 | Uncategorized
Once we whites become aware of the magnitude and extent of the systemic racism that surrounds us, it can feel overwhelming. How does one make an impact? What can be done that will matter? It is easy to feel powerless. What can one person do that will actually...
by Michael Burkart | Jan 9, 2021 | Uncategorized
If you commit your organization to achieving racial equity, you will certainly encounter resistance to this goal from certain whites. Some adhere to the notion that the workplace is a strict meritocracy, and any focus on racial equity is simply a form of preferential...
by Michael Burkart | Dec 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
When leaders commit to achieving racial equity in their organization, many employees will want to know what is the measure of success. What constitutes a racially equitable organization? People have a limited tolerance for the chaos and uncertainty that accompanies...
by Michael Burkart | Dec 16, 2020 | Uncategorized
One of the legacies of US culture is the fact that whites are over-represented in the top positions of organizations. This is the case across all industries and throughout academia and government. (See the current data on this in my blog of September 21, 2020:...
by Michael Burkart | Dec 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
All companies and organizations exist within a larger community. Often, many of the organization’s employees live in that community. No doubt, some of the vendors and customers or clients of the organization also reside in that community. This creates an important...
by Michael Burkart | Nov 16, 2020 | Uncategorized
There are numerous obstacles that leaders encounter when they decide to create racial equity in their organization. One particularly difficult one is the habit of white control. By this I mean that whites are accustomed to being that party, in a relationship, which...
by Michael Burkart | Nov 5, 2020 | Uncategorized
As we saw in Part II, it is impossible to design a management system that is impervious to bias. This is the case because any time someone has to use their discretionary judgement, their conscious or unconscious bias can drive the direction of that decision. In any...
by Michael Burkart | Oct 27, 2020 | Uncategorized
In order to mitigate unconscious bias, each management system must be examined. There are four phases to this work: Create a flow chart identifying each step in the process (recruiting, evaluating, promoting, assigning projects, mentoring). At each step in the...
by Michael Burkart | Oct 18, 2020 | Uncategorized
Research by Professors Judd Kessler and Corinne Low indicates that employers continue to show bias against BIPOC candidates, in spite of affirmations about wanting to hire more BIPOC candidates.[1] In that study of 72 employers, 90% continued to rate lower the...
by Michael Burkart | Oct 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
I have some concrete suggestions for any organizational leader whose company is “unable to find qualified BIPOC workers,” as the Wells Fargo CEO recently said. The first thing you need to do is to find out whether your company is perceived as a place where BIPOC...
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