Watch: Anti-racism in hiring — putting policies into practice

Global events in the past year have prompted long-overdue conversations around diversity and equality in the development sector. Yet employer practices have, for the most part, been slow to change.

The “old school male, stale, and pale boys club” still exists and makes it difficult for professionals from minority backgrounds to break into the sector and, once there, to get into the rooms where decisions are made, said Sanum Jain, co-founder of BAMEiD, a LinkedIn network for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic development professionals in the U.K.

Lena Bheeroo, events and program manager and lead on anti-racism work at Bond, a network of U.K. NGOs, said some employers are taking diversity and inclusion seriously and investing in improving practices, with smaller organizations often leading the charge. But, there are also cases where momentum made earlier in the year is waning and this is reflected in how organizations are prioritizing these efforts.

In this online event, experts from the sector discuss why some employers are still lagging behind and stress that a lack of data is no excuse for a lack of action. They share ideas on the initial steps organizations should take to tackle racism in hiring and in the workplace, and what donors and people in positions of power could be doing.

Moderator:
Kate Warren, executive vice president, Devex

Speakers:
• Sanum Jain, co-founder and co-lead, BAMEiD
• Melissa Nicholson, co-founder and co-lead, BAMEiD
• Lena Bheeroo, events and program manager and lead on anti-racism work, Bond
• Leila Billing, senior adviser on gender, youth, and movement building

Watch the full event Anti-racist hiring: Putting policies into practice.