It’s a bad time for proponents of trickle-down economics. Joining Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng in the dustbin of bad ideas is the belief that good fortune, or handouts, for the people at the very top translates to benefits for the majority.
But at the same time, we seem content to press on with the similar notion of “trickle-down diversity”. This is the belief that putting people of colour at the top of an organisation will automatically benefit people of colour lower down the scale, changing an organisation’s culture, increasing employment of people from diverse backgrounds at every level and creating better policies for a multicultural society. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But sorry, it’s a dud too.
We’ve already seen the limits of the idea that people of colour at the top always means positive change. Think of Suella Braverman – the daughter of immigrants from Kenya and Mauritius – sharing her “dream” of seeing a plane packed with refugees flying off to Rwanda. Think of Rishi Sunak, soon to be prime minister, boasting that he changed a funding formula that gave more public money to “deprived urban areas”.
Some argue, reprehensibly, that the explanation when rightwing politicians such as Braverman and Kwarteng say things progressives object to is that they are the “wrong type” of women or black people; or even that they are only “superficially” black.
But that’s not the problem: the problem is the concept itself. The idea that simply by increasing diversity at the top of an organisation, whether you’re the prime minister or a CEO, this will lead to diversity throughout is not supported by academic literature. In fact, there is a wealth of evidence that the opposite happens.
Two years ago, when I helped establish the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, one of our main goals was to help media organisations increase their diversity and inclusion by drawing on the best academic research to inform their hiring policies. I have since sat on numerous panels with large media organisations – many of them liberal – all genuinely confused as to why increasing diversity at senior positions has not substantially changed their workplace culture. The one thing I always advise: simply changing the people at the top will not achieve the results they are looking for.
We all know individual women and people of colour in senior positions who fearlessly work to help improve diversity and inclusion. But we also need to know that often that focus comes at a cost: study after study has shown that women and people of colour pay a heavy personal price. In a seminal paper, Harvard researchers found that when men promoted diversity, they received slightly higher performance ratings. They were perceived as “good guys” creating a better workplace. However, when female executives promoted diversity, they were perceived as biased, and their own performance was then negatively perceived accordingly.
Another study has even worse implications. It suggests people from ethnic minorities who have previously demonstrated a tendency to advocate for diversity are less likely to be promoted or get a new job. Those who included experiences related to their ethnicity on their CVs were more likely to be passed over for jobs – even at companies that openly valued diversity.
The consequences are that quite often “diverse” workers have to choose between personal ambition or helping people of their own background to progress. I know this to be true. Just the other day, I spoke to one newly promoted black executive whose reaction to his elevation was to say: “I am going to fight to get more black people promoted, even if it costs my career.” He saw only binary options.
So what, in Black History Month, can we take from all this? First, there is no doubt that British companies and institutions need to increase the number of women and people of colour in senior positions. But even if progress is made in this important area, the effect will be minimal unless these people are actively given support so they can help without worrying about being penalised for their efforts. Until then, the people most likely to rise will be those who do not believe in diversity, or others who, aware of the chilling effect of being seen to fight for it, resolve to steer clear.
To bring this back to politics: a reality check might help. We cannot expect people of colour or women to rise in any party if their beliefs and values are different from the party in which they are looking to succeed. People of colour and women in senior positions simply reflect the values of the organisation they are in – research suggests it is unrealistic to expect them to climb their way to the top and then be agents of change, challenging the culture that enabled them to succeed. Those who do will be the exception to the rule. That’s the reality.
I applaud courageous women and black and Asian executives who promote diversity knowing the risks to their own career. But if we are serious about progress, they shouldn’t have to make that choice, and the burden should not be on their shoulders. Until these actions stop requiring extraordinary courage, real progress will never be made.
• Marcus Ryder is the host of the podcast Black British Lives Matter
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