Authored by: Jonas Hosmer, Spring ’21 Intern
A recent article from Harvard Business Review by Sharlene Gupta explored how employees felt about their employer’s actions in response to the rise in anti-Asian racism. With everything from corporate activism to corporate social responsibility on the rise, and the outpouring of support for Black Lives Matter by corporations last summer, Gupta was curious about how companies would respond.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans now expect corporations to take a stance on social issues, so remaining silent in the face of injustice is no longer a viable option. The majority of those interviewed expressed a desire that their company speak out more vocally against the current wave of racist hate crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. But actions speak louder than words. Most employees wanted their company to do more than just release a statement.
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Ms. Gupta’s interviews suggest the following steps that companies may take:
Acknowledge
The CEO should not be the only person that is putting out a statement. Leaders throughout the chain of command need to speak out. The more people that speak, the more visibility the issue will get, and the more conversations will be opened up.
Be Available
As a leader, it is your job to be available to support your employees. It is important to have an “open door” policy that provides an open and welcoming environment for people to voice their opinions, even if they don’t take you up on it right away.
Discuss
It is important to create a voluntary space for discussion. Some employees may take longer to collect their thoughts and voice them, while others will be able and ready to speak in the moment. These voluntary spaces allow people of all backgrounds to gather and discuss what needs to be done to move forward.
Commit
Now that people have shared their vision and goals to support the community going forward, it is time to commit to putting a plan in action. There are multiple groups that support the AAPI community and reaching out to them for advice could prove to create a beneficial relationship between your team and supporting the cause.
You can read the entire article by Ms. Gupta on the HBR website.
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