Solat Chaudhry,

October was probably the most significant and most important annual celebration of Black History Month since its inception.

Many people will remember 2020 for the Covid pandemic but we cannot forget what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 when he was arrested by a white police officer Derek Chauvin, who then knelt on George’s neck for a period initially reported to be 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

The reaction was to stun the world and ignite protests and demonstrations across the world.

We must also not forget that this year has also been a call to action to ensure we can all put an end to deep-rooted racism that exists in parts of our society.

Here in the UK, there has been debate after debate about the suitability of certain statues with calls for them to be pulled down. The facts and historical context have been widely ignored by a generation that surrounds itself with what I call, ‘the like generation’. Those social media users that never get to see a contrary argument because they only see material they ‘like’ and therefore, by default, it comes from people who share their same values – and, which then, sends the algorithms searching for similar material.

Where has art of rhetoric gone? Why have we lost the ability to debate? I wonder if universities still have debating societies these days.

That is why it is important to realise Black History Month, is of enormous importance. Now we have moved into November, we should not just pack it away for another year like we do our Christmas decorations each January.

No! We need to have it consciously in our psyche as we should do with other celebrations of diversity such as Pride days.

I recall a speech that Digby Jones made whilst CBI Director-General. He started, with a powerful statement: Racism, wherever it exits in our society, is about waste.

Wasted lives, wasted potential and wasted people.

Or, expressed in the terms of day-to-day business, racism is about:

• sales not made;
• ideas not thought up;
• hours not worked;
• expert advice not listened to.

Like any good businessman, I hate waste.  So, I hate racism, because I believe in the business case for diversity – quite simply, that diversity improves all-round performance.

Isn’t that powerful?

That’s why we at the National Centre for Diversity always point out the business benefits of our Investors in Diversity programmes recognised by companies large and small.

Construction company, GallifordTry, apply our FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Engagement) and have seen great results and 86% of its suppliers are aware of its FREDIE Policy.

Surely  if we are going to get race, equality, diversity and inclusion engrained  in our society we need to do more than an annual celebration and acknowledgment, because this is not just about  black or Asian lives,  but  impacts on Eastern European immigration and religions like Judaism.

That’s why our eLearning courses help by shining a spotlight on the issues, raise awareness and help organisations tackle inequality, using truly interactive experiences based on real life scenarios and feature quizzes, puzzles and videos; giving everyone a vibrant and engaging experience.

I feel quite strongly that The National Centre for Diversity is a diversity company that does eLearning not an eLearning company that is trying to do diversity.

Which is why we can drill down into the issues that matter and take individuals or teams through a whistle-stop tour on cultural inclusion or bust myths surrounding Muslims in the workplace.

It is important as Black History Month comes to its conclusion for 2020, we don’t let race drift from the agenda.

Solat Chaudhry is CEO at the National Centre for Diversity