How to Support Women of Colour on Your Team

In a column for Time magazine this week, S. Mitra Kalita voiced her frustrations with organisations seeking to solve their diversity problems by simply hiring women of colour.  

As she points out, there are several issues with this.  From placing a burden on that hire to ‘fix’ your workplace before they’ve even arrived, to erasing men of colour from this dynamic, to reducing potential hires to their race and gender rather than the professional qualities they bring. 

If you suspect this dynamic is creeping into your workplace, check out the piece in full.  

For those who want to take action to improve the situation, the article includes a checklist from Lorie Valle-Yanez, MassMutual’s head of diversity, equity, and inclusion, of how organisations can better support women of colour.  It’s succinct and practical, so we’ve reprinted it in full:

• Seek to bring other women of color to the team so they are not the only one.
• Invest the time to get to know and develop the women of color on your team.
• Design assignments and opportunities that create visibility for women of color and access to leaders in other areas.
• Be an advocate for women of color in your organization.
• Provide informal mentoring and coaching to women of color to help them navigate your culture.
• Listen and learn about the experiences of women of color at your company. Lean into discomfort to learn about and address systemic racism.

Kalita signs off with this summary:

‘The bottom line: if your ideal candidate is a woman of color, it means your workplace needs to work to make sure you are her ideal, too’