On our ‘Engaging People, Powering Companies’ podcast last week,

Amrit took inspiration from a film he watched on his travels to India, called Origin. This American biographical drama is based on the life of Isabel Wilkerson, as she writes the book ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’. Over the course of the film, Wilkerson travels throughout Germany, India, and the United States to research the caste systems in each country's history.

This book, which I have not yet read but is now on the list, explores the idea of how race may not be the only determining factor in bigotry. During Wilkerson’s travels, she discovered that everyone may be of the same "race", but bigotry still occurs by caste. That is, to divide society into different social classes, based on things such as where someone is born, their occupation or their social status. Her book explores the structures in place to maintain and perpetuate these caste systems, keeping a manmade, artificial order, where some humans are seen as, and, treated (massively) inferior to others.

Wilkerson’s book explores racism in the United States and sees it as a caste system, like in Nazi Germany, or the caste systems of India. She explains how slavery compares to the Holocaust, talking about how certain groups were defined as an inferior race and either dominated and controlled, or exterminated. Amrit shared how genuinely moved he was by this film and how these society wide systems of social stratification are characterised by hierarchy, inclusion and exclusion, and purity. And all but the last of these terms, we use a lot within the world of work.

We know firsthand of the attempts within the working world, to create more inclusive workplaces. The programmes and campaigns that are designed to help foster understanding and belonging, however all too often, become nothing more than a tick box exercise, and do very little to tackle the underlying beliefs people have, and the way people can sometimes be treated. They don’t always look at the processes and systems in place for recruiting and promoting for example, and they don’t question the behavioural norms and frankly limiting beliefs that exist, that keep anyone that on the face of it doesn’t fit in, at bay.

Imagine a world where anyone that walks through the door at work, gets to explore just who they are and what they are capable of, minus any sort of judgement that ends up stifling them, their development, and their contributions. Now this might well be happening already in organisations, and I am ever hopeful! I guess the call for leaders is to consider if there is anything perpetuating inequalities and limiting opportunities for any marginalised groups within the workplace, and to really understand what those groups might be.

Easy to identify what we often tick on a form (male and female, ethnicity, sexual orientation), and by gosh, we better be making sure that we are nurturing an equitable culture, but what about other things across an organisation, that can keep people from feeling truly equal and like they belong? The silo’s people work in and the type of jobs that they do. The accents people have or personal circumstances. The opportunity for leaders here is to truly reflect on how inclusive is the workplace? Who is seen as inferior and who superior? Where are we limiting people’s experiences and potential?

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging is not, or certainly shouldn’t be, a tick box exercise. It exists because it matters that people are treated this way, and so that we can become aware of workplace biases, discrimination, and unequal opportunities and actually do something about it. What is happening on the floor of organisations that is perpetuating caste-like hierarchies? Because whatever it is, will be having an impact on morale, productivity, innovation, retention, and therefore the bottom line. And don’t we have a responsibility to help make the world a better place? It can’t all be about work, work, work. How about humanity?!

I publicly share that I struggle to watch the news, because to me humans are humans, and we are equal. I find the world that is reported on, to be too painful to watch, so I steer clear for my own sanity, and instead spend my time joining Amrit on the quest to help make the world of work a more inclusive place, in the hope that it makes a difference out in the wider world.

That was Amrit’s message with this one – let’s have hope. Let’s have hope, and make our organisations the beacons that can help change society to one that is more inclusive, and where people are not forever trapped by beliefs that others hold of them, about their worthiness, capabilities, and rights, which in turn limits their experiences of a life of equality, which as far as I am concerned, is the right of every human being on this planet.

Listen to the podcast here.