Dismantling Structural Racism in Organisational Systems

Abstract

Globally, our societies are riddled with racism and so are our organisations. While there are many excellent “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) practitioners tackling racism and promoting racial equity in organisations, we contend that the language of “diversity” and “inclusion” risks diluting the impact of this work. Something stronger may be required to address racism’s tenacious structural character. We propose thinking about this work in organisational systems as more fundamentally “dismantling structural racism.” The dismantling process can be enabled by having a fuller understanding of what structural racism is, and how it affects people working in organisations, as well as by having a deeper appreciation of the history of racism, rooted in colonialism, and serving the ends of economic exploitation. With this greater awareness of how racism is built into, and manifests, in organisational systems, we are better equipped to act in more systemic ways towards dismantling it. In this article, we share some of what we are learning about convening and engaging in organisational systems with the purpose of navigating both structural and cultural change.