Diversity and Human Rights Management e-Bulletin: What Do You Do If You Discover Prejudice and Discrimination in Your Organization?

Two recent high profile cases of discrimination in other countries contain important lessons for Canadian employers.

CBC Television recently broadcast the controversial British Broadcasting documentary, The Secret Policeman by undercover BBC journalist Mark Daly. Daly joined the Greater Manchester Police as a trainee, and infiltrated Bruche Police Training Centre in Warrington, Cheshire for several months in order to discover if racism lurked in the ranks. Daly secretly filmed white recruits exhibiting extreme prejudice toward people of colour. Unaware that he was filming them, some of the recruits, once they became officers, later told Daly how they delighted in practising racism on the job.

A disturbing and controversial documentary, the BBC program raises troubling questions about (in the words of the CBC website description) "why the recruitment process is failing to weed out bigots and to what extent members of racist organizations have infiltrated the police force".

In another major case, Macys' in New York City has recently agreed to settle a complaint that its department stores engaged in racial profiling and the unlawful handcuffing of customers detained on suspicion of shoplifting.

Macy's officials (in the words of The New York Times story) "said the company's formal policy banning racial and ethnic profiling was ignored by employees of the stores investigatedÖ"

What can organizations do when they suspect, or discover, a discriminatory subculture alive in their ranks?

Following the broadcast of Daly's shocking report and a subsequent investigation by Manchester police, five officers resigned and three more were suspended from duty. The British Government's Commission for Racial Equality has announced a thorough branch-by-branch official investigation into police racism.

As part of Macy's settlement with authorities Macy's agreed to "appoint an internal security monitor to train, monitor and investigate complaints about security employees. The company has also agreed to train employees more extensively on how to avoid discrimination, and to hire an outside company to perform anonymous audits on security employees to see if they treat customers differently based on race and ethnicity".

These admirable responses send a strong message. Whether these measures are enough to effect enduring change will depend in no small measure on management capacity to prevent, recognize and remediate future violations of policy should they develop.

These two cases point to the ongoing problem of a racist, or otherwise discriminatory, subculture asserting itself within organizational life - even in the face of strong human rights policy.

Supervisors and managers require training and resources to support them in taking a stand against such expressions of prejudice and discrimination. It is obvious that managers often know when such gross violations of human rights policy are occurring. Some may intervene; but others turn away, often uncertain about whether and how it is safe to intervene. Two things can help managers do the right thing:

1. Powerful and consistent communication and example-setting by senior management;

2. A helpful person - be it a Human Resources specialist, a human rights ombudsperson or a diversity manager with a mandate to provide knowledgeable assistance, and intervention if necessary - where supervisors and managers can go for advice.

Charles Novogrodsky and Associates offers comprehensive one-stop consulting on diversity and human rights management.

For free and confidential telephone consultation or to receive free Special Reports, call (416) 534-5891.

Website: www.connectingwithdiversity.com