As October draws to a close, organisations across the UK are wrapping up Black History Month celebrations.
While these events highlight Black professionals' accomplishments and contributions, they also pose a critical question: are efforts in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) being maintained beyond this month? Black History Month serves an essential role in the UK, spotlighting the history, culture and contribution of the Black community throughout October.
Many people in the UK and US felt that Black history, innovation and accomplishments have been undervalued or overlooked in society. In response, Black History Month was established, with the UK first celebrating it in 1987.
However, while the celebration frequently increases activities promoting racial inclusion within businesses, the issue remains in converting this energy into long-term structural improvements in workplaces. “The fact that we need a Black History Month is an indictment on us all that we have failed the Black community and continue to fail, as evidenced in recent years,” said Shakil Butt, founder and CEO of HR Hero for Hire.
“Whilst some progress has been made with regards to gender, racial equity is still lagging with Black and Ethnic Minorities still facing barriers in selection, promotion, inequitable employee relations and termination during the employee lifecycle,” he added. For Cheryl Samuels, people and culture director at Evelina London, Black History Month is “an opportunity to educate, inform and celebrate the contributions, concerns and issues that impact people from the global majority as a result of the legacy from history.
“It’s an opportunity to build a clearer understanding of the experience of the global majority of people and how racism operates and intersects with other protected characteristics that impact the daily lives of so many.” Samuels added that investing in real development is key to embedding the changes.
However, this can only happen by mainstreaming EDI within organisations through people leaders. “It is not effective to employ stand-alone EDI officers with little power and influence, especially when there is little corporate understanding and ownership of the challenges,” she said.
The importance of EDI within organisations has increased in recent years, spurred by movements such as Black Lives Matter. Yet data from Gallup shows that the number of organisations expecting to increase their EDI budget has decreased from 84 per cent in 2022 to 59 per cent in 2024.
Additionally, some experts, like Simon Fanshawe, a diversity consultant, argue that diversity “needs a reset”, as stated in his opinion piece published in the Sunday Times earlier this month. Fanshawe’s recent report with co-author Matilda Gosling, titled ‘Flying Flags and Ticking Boxes – what went wrong with EDI and how leaders can fix it’, which included interviews with 45 leaders from the public and private sectors, including HR leaders, suggests that EDI efforts have often become “detached” from core business objectives.
The report noted: “This can be compounded by a deeper lack of understanding within organisations about what EDI can achieve. It is often viewed separately from other organisational activities and structures, rather than as something to be embedded within workplace culture.”
Lutfur Ali, senior policy and practice adviser for EDI at the CIPD, said that in addition to events like awareness months, “EDI must be a strategic business priority; it must be integrated into all operational strategies whether this is business growth, improvement or creating a fit for purpose workforce”.
“Genuine commitment to EDI involves measurable actions including diversity targets, embedding EDI into talent management processes, and initiatives to create truly inclusive cultures that empower all people to thrive,” he added. “Leadership must also be held accountable for progress, for example by tying executive compensation to EDI goals and culture change.”
Ali also highlighted that HR professionals, as the “guardians of EDI policies”, have a critical role to play in embedding improvements to organisational culture, people behaviours and day-to-day operations. “This can be achieved by offering continuous EDI training, creating employee resource groups aligned to EDI and business priorities, and ensuring diverse and inclusive hiring and promotion practices year-round,” he said.
While Black History Month prompts companies to amplify their diversity efforts, research by Barnett Waddingham found that less than one in five (17 per cent) HR directors and CEOs said their business had introduced or invested in an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy in the past year. Employers said that growing business costs have caused them to reduce their investments in EDI, with the vast majority (83 per cent) citing operational costs as a factor.
However, Butt pointed out that extending EDI beyond October requires understanding the “lived experience of the Black workforce”, the challenges they face, and how racism manifests itself in their daily interactions with colleagues and managers. He added: “That can be done through one-to-one interviews and focus groups but requires creating safe platforms and a culture where people feel able to speak up without fear of reprisal.”
He warned that employee resource groups, though helpful, should not bear the full responsibility for workplace equity issues. “They can be part of the solution but not the solution,” Butt said.
According to Idris Arshad, head of people at Asthma + Lung UK, cultural moments such as Black History Month have “historical importance”. He suggested understanding the demographic of your workforce can help identify key priorities for building workforce awareness.
“Developing and planning a calendar year worth of information sharing, learning or events based on what people need to know or be aware of is helpful,” he added.
“A suggestion could be focussing one on protected characteristics from the Equality Act each month.” Suki Sandhu, CEO and founder of diversity and inclusion consultancy INvolve, said that every company is on a journey and they have to start somewhere.
“If Black History Month provides an opportunity for HR departments to increase their knowledge and understanding and look at the issues regarding Black representation and inclusion, then that is a positive step,” he said.
However, he warned that: “If a year passes and the knowledge and understanding gained during Black History Month has not resulted in further action, then the work becomes tokenistic”. In addition, Margaret Ochieng, founder and managing director at the Inclusive Village, told People Management: “For HR departments who have shown a clear commitment to the desired change and who see themselves as vehicles for that change, Black History Month offers an opportunity to not just engage meaningfully, but to also demonstrate leadership and role model the vision for racial equity in the workplace.”
However, she warned that where there’s no commitment, that’s when you see “HR running around at the last minute,” to put some patchwork BHM initiatives in place. “Most people can see through that,” she explained.
A report from Business in the Community, found that Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage and other Ethnically diverse employees face “unfairness” and “favouritism” in interpersonal relationships, due to workplace politics compared to their white counterparts. In addition, a study from TapIn revealed nearly half (47 per cent) of Black Gen Z workers feel they are unable to be themselves in the workplace.
Claudine Charles, founder and director of Blended Learning Studio, added that it is vital that the HR profession maintains a focus on diversity and inclusion for Black employees. “Being Black is a visible characteristic, and while we are classified as a protected group, many still feel unprotected.
“HR professionals must recognise and understand the unique challenges faced by their Black employees. We need to acknowledge that racism is still prevalent and requires sustained attention and cultural change.
“However, it’s important to remember that this responsibility doesn’t lie solely with HR – it requires a collective, organisational effort.” There are further resources on EDI available on the CIPD’s website.
