Race: Let’s make a difference!

Challenge Accepted

People Business are delighted to announce we have chosen the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust as our official charity partner.

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust (SLCT) is an organisation close to our hearts. Not only is our founder and MD, Andrea Gregory, a trustee for the charity, but their tireless work to create a fairer world in which everybody, no matter their background, has the opportunity to succeed inspires us all.

We are thrilled to be working with them and would like to share these thought provoking challenges SLCT have set, so that everyone can live in a world where their lives are valued, their aspirations are encouraged and they are seen and treated equally. We all have the power to make a difference.

CHALLENGE 1: Educate yourself

Racism is not confined to the USA. In the UK, black children are three times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than their counterparts. Black people are more than nine times as likely to be stopped and searched by police as white people and more than five times as likely to have force used against them. White privilege is about the racial bias in our society, it is the unseen, unconscious advantages that a person experiences due to their race. Use the ‘White Privilege Checklist’ to reflect on your own experience and the experiences of others.

CHALLENGE 2: Support those working to make a difference

The charities making the most difference in their local communities are often too small to appear on the radar of major funders. These charities support employment, education, health and other issues that enable people to live well. Ask your company to support a charity working with those from black and minority ethnic heritage – charities with income of less than £1,000,000 (the average is less than £80,000).

CHALLENGE 3: Speak up

Speak up when you see behaviour that excludes or disrespects people because they are from black or minority ethnic backgrounds. Speak up when you notice that the way a particular system or process works has the effect of excluding or disadvantaging people because of their race.

• If it happens at work? Email your HR manager or even your CEO
• If it happens in your community? Write to your MP
• If it happens in your family or social networks? Challenge them, be the change you want to see

Help us build momentum that makes a difference by sharing what you do on social media, tagging us and SLCT in and using the hashtag #ChallengeAccepted.

Thank you for standing with us.

With thanks to the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.