How (And Why) To Address Systemic Racism Through Community Engagements

Editor’s note: This article is the final installment in a four-part series on how IT leaders can effectively address systemic racism in their organizations. Start reading here or jump to either the first article in the series, which lays the groundwork for effectively addressing systemic racism, the second article in the series, which outlines how IT leaders can begin creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, or the third article in the series, which offers a 5-step approach to building a fair, equitable, and just IT culture.

The decision to take a stand against systemic racism by actively supporting social justice reform can be a difficult and pivotal choice for any organization.  In today’s social and political climate, there are increased expectations by both employees and consumers for companies to get actively involved in supporting social justice initiatives moving forward. 

According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer report, 64% of survey respondents say they believe that CEOs can create positive changes in prejudice and discrimination, while 54% say that CEOs should speak publicly on controversial political and social issues that employees care about. And 53% of consumers say that every brand has a responsibility to get involved in at least one social issue that does not directly impact its business…

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Contributer

  • : Author

    Damon Carter is SVP and CHRO at CATIC and Adjunct Research Analyst for IDC.

    He provides subject matter expertise and HR thought leadership for the IDC IT Executive Program, a premier global provider of market intelligence for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. He conducts progressive research on emerging workplace trends and contribute to the IDC advisory community to help CIOs, CTOs and IT executives leverage innovative human capital strategies to achieve critical business objectives.

    Damon has extensive experience in union and non-union work environments leading dynamic organizational change and implementing innovative human capital strategies to successfully enable workforce transformation, including improving the digital experience of employees to drive corporate performance.