Black History Month: The Catalyst to Foster More Inclusive Behavior Year Round

Black History Month is just a beginning for companies to foster more inclusive behavior at work.

While it’s obviously a time to reflect on and/or learn about Black History in our nation, it can be a time to offer education to non-Black workers on topics like microaggressions and implicit bias, and create space for Black workers to share their experiences.

Celebrating Black History Month

Many companies, with best interests in mind, amp up efforts to celebrate diversity and Black History during February each year.

Then they scale back these efforts to focus on other things throughout the year until the next time February rolls around. That can unintentionally give off the impression that supporting Black workers and the Black community (or any other underrepresented community) is only necessary one month in the year, instead of a continuous effort.

To better support Black workers, companies can use the steam during Black History Month to keep diversity efforts going all year long.

Imperfect Action is Better Than No Action

Here’s the thing about Black History Month: Many people in the workplace — leaders, employees, co-workers — tend to shy away from talking about race and equity for fear of getting it “wrong” or saying the wrong thing. But February gives everyone the launchpad to make these conversations comfortable.

“Imperfect action is the best (and often the only) way to make your company more diverse and inclusive,” says Danielle Little, Director at Peoplism. “And Black History Month can serve as a pivotal moment for you and your company to take these imperfect, yet forward-moving steps to supporting Black employees.” 

To begin implementing meaningful initiatives, you first have to ask yourself questions to evaluate what the state of your workplace is like for Black workers. “Take the time to really reflect and write down your response, and next year, you can use these notes to see if you’ve made any meaningful changes,” suggests Little. 

Ask These Questions

Here are three questions for leaders to ask themselves – and why it’s important.

1. When was the last time I (or my team) interviewed a Black candidate? What was the role and was this person hired? It’s important for leaders to evaluate recruiting and hiring practices to make sure they’re diverse and inclusive. “The answer to this question may make you reconsider your recruiting and hiring practices to ensure Black candidates are being proactively sourced and fairly evaluated,” says Little.

2. Who are the potential next group of leaders in my company? Is anyone in this group Black? “Unconscious bias shapes who we believe has potential,” says Little. “Asking yourself explicitly who you are supporting, sponsoring and giving opportunities to is crucial to directly confront potential biases.”

3. When was the last time a Black employee was given a high-profile assignment on my team? “This question makes you stop and consider how the assignments that are integral to career development (and promotions) are being distributed on your team,” says Little.

Once you’ve assessed your workplace, you can spot pain points for Black employees or areas that could be improved to help better shape diversity efforts.

Prioritize Inclusive Behavior Year-Round

Typically, the focus on inclusion and/or diversity around Black History Month fizzles out as quickly as we turn the page to March. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Organizations can do several things to prioritize inclusive behaviors throughout the year, according to Peoplism co-founder Dr. Liz Kofman-Burns. A few best practices:

• Don’t rush: “Think of pressure as momentum, and use it to build a strategic plan. Communicate to your company that this work will not be solved with any statement or training you take on this month, and rather than exclusively focusing on what immediate action you have to take, commit to taking a holistic look at company processes, systems and employee experiences,” says Kofman-Burns.
• Make it a job, if necessary. Don’t rely solely on a task force that cares about diversity or your dedicated Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to keep the inclusion candle burning. “[Those] are employees who already have full-time jobs,” says Kofman-Burns. “While they may be dedicated and passionate about D&I, they shouldn’t be expected to work a ‘second shift’ to take on such a large and complex undertaking.”
• Don’t focus on hiring only Black employees: Conversations about equity “can become laser-focused on sourcing and recruiting Black-identifying candidates since they tend to be one of the most underrepresented groups across many industries,” says Kofman-Burns. “It’s important to know that this is only one small part of creating a more inclusive and equitable company. In order to retain a diverse pool of talent, you will need to adequately address issues related to inclusion, equity and belonging as well.” There are other underrepresented areas to consider when hiring to increase diversity.

Impactful Initiatives: Inclusive Ideas for HR

You’ll want to choose initiatives that build momentum for the year instead of one-and-done education or training sessions.

Here are a few ideas to get started to build inclusive behaviors across your company during Black History Month and well beyond.

1. Encourage Development

Encourage and provide career development opportunities for employees of color by bringing qualified employees into leadership discussions and other high-level roles.

Their insight can help identify equity blind spots, but it can also help you identify the key metrics to continuously assess so you’re certain you are assessing growth in diversity and inclusiveness. A good place start? Go back and review those three questions above.

2. Continue to Support ERGs

Give employees room to create and build on ERGs that fit their lifestyles and interests throughout their journeys as employees. What interested last year may not this year, so ERGs are often a moving, breathing entity, especially for employees who belong to minority groups.

3. Celebrate More History

There’s something diverse to celebrate nearly every month of the year. And if you don’t want to call out a full-on history celebration like we do for Black History Month, you might try a book club. Consider posting books that celebrate a different group or cause each month.

For example, in February, members could read a book by a Black author or a book on Black history.

As a catalyst, here are groups to celebrate – for the rest of the year:

• January: Mental Wellness Month (Read a book by an author who espouses being open about mental health or who suffers from mental health issues)
• March: Women’s History Month (read a book by a woman)
• April: Autism Awareness month (You get the gist …)
• May: Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month
• June: Pride Month
• July: American Artist Appreciation Month
• August: National Inventors Month
• September: Hispanic Heritage Month and continues into October
• October: LGBTQ+ History Month
• November: Native American Heritage Month, and
• December: HIV/AIDS Awareness Month.

4. Diversify the Conversation

Similar — or in addition — to celebrating diversity, feature a speaker monthly or quarterly who can share stories and experiences that center around Black identity (in February) and/or how to promote diversity (throughout the year and related to different celebrations).

Encourage employees to get involved and ask questions, and maybe even tell their own experiences around race. Your speaker could even be an employee.

5. Spotlight Charities Supporting Diversity

Also similar — or in addition — to celebrating diversity, create a list of charities that support the Black community (in February) and other diverse groups throughout the year. Then either make efforts to support those charities through fundraisers or give employees a day off to volunteer for the groups. Of course, make all the efforts voluntary.