CEO MESSAGE: Racial justice and breaking down structural racism is embedded in our working ethos.

Anti Racism
Written By Emma Gunn - CEO of Re-Balance

Re-Balance’s starting position is always about diminishing inequalities. The Re-Balance team are themselves radical and relentless in their expectations of themselves to do better.

So we take great pride in leading by example.

Re-Balance focuses on the intersection between mental health and well-being, diversity, inclusion, social mobility and poverty and planetary health. We’re interrupters where we’ll challenge the status quo through empathy and action, we’ll hold the mirror up to ourselves and others and we will tackle the seen to be taboo and difficult subjects head-on so that society doesn’t get too comfortable with accepting the unacceptable.

Racial justice and breaking down structural racism is embedded in our working ethos. But we know we have lots to learn, much more to unlearn and we’re committed to creating a lasting impact for a fairer world and opportunities for our black and brown communities.

One of the fundamental and basic actions any CEO and organisation can take is to show allyship. Allyship is about using our personal and positional power and privilege to amplify voices. It is about asking who is sat at the table, who isn’t, why not and how do we get them there, as well as making sure the voices of people with a wide range of lived experiences to be heard.

Along with other leaders from the social sector, I am committing to:

  • Be part of groups and committees that are actively inclusive, and ask myself who isn’t at the table, who should be and how can we get them there?

  • Be part of panels where at least 50% of the panel is women and 20% of the panel Black, Indigenous and People of Colour

  • Take part in conferences where speakers and representatives with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences are heard across all parts of the conference including the main stage

  • Always be asking myself, my teams and other organisers if we are making sure a wide range of voices and lived experiences are heard in our own events and those we participate in.

I am also:

  • Encouraging others around me to make these commitments

  • Making this an organisation-wide approach whereby we encourage everyone to do the same

  • Talking to event organisers about amplifying diverse voices

  • Encouraging thinking about any barriers – financial or otherwise – to attendance at their events and consider subsidies and other mechanisms that enable people from diverse communities to participate.

On a personal level, I’m also challenging tokenistic behaviours, especially in the workplace and those we work with. If we are going to make lasting change then this is not a simple tick box exercise. Having a black or brown person on your leadership team doesn’t make you an anti-racist organisation. Show me your policies, show me the learning and development plans for your workforces, show me how you’re not simply profiting off your commitments, financial or otherwise, by expecting more from others and then not applying those same principles to yourselves.

In making these commitments public, I am naming and owning the power I hold to create space for more voices to be heard, and to influence. And the more of us that make these commitments the faster we will make the change. This is the least I can do and I will be looking at how we can consistently do better and do more. This isn’t a one time only announcement and actions speak louder than words but by sharing this publically, you can, and must, hold me accountable.

We know we won’t always get it right. When we don’t, we will apologise and reflect on what we can learn from our errors. We will commit to do better to avoid making repeated mistakes.

There is no badge, no club to join, no fee to pay, just an ask, please join us in committing to do all you can to ensure diverse voices and lived experiences are heard.

To get you started, here’s some other individuals you need to follow and get to know:

A version of this blog is being published on multiple organisational and individual channels and we would like to encourage anyone who wants to join us in those commitments to use and adapt the text and publish on your own channels. If you are struggling to access the text, please email hello@re-balance.org

Photo credit: Jon Tyson

Emma Gunn - CEO of Re-Balance https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-gunn/
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