Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | February 8, 2021 | wbjournal.com Presents Join our host, Jon Gordon as he hosts this monthly webcast featuring America's top business minds and thought leaders. Go to: businessforumusa.com/worcester BE OUR GUEST. REGISTER NOW. FEBRUARY 10 12:00PM JOHN MAXWELL Bestselling author, speaker, coach, and leader THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! representation is essential; it promotes diversity in thought and when it exists, organizations can be held accountable to include a multicultural or antiracist lens for any visions, missions, institu- tional philosophies, or pedagogies they put forth…imperative to push against any dominant narrative, to navigate and serve in this multidimensional, multi- faceted, multicultural world." Dr. William Johnson, dean of stu- dents, at Fairfield University in Con- necticut, said boards of trustees need members from different backgrounds. "History and research has shown that educational boards are reflective of their white, male origins … and tend to per- petuate this characteristic over time…it cannot be understated the importance of boards taking the necessary steps to in- clude those who have traditionally been underrepresented," William said. "As we live in an incredibly racialized country, organizations can benefit from having racially diverse board in order to address racial injustices and disparities; seeking to improve the recruitment and reten- tion of its talent pool, and perhaps most importantly, helping the organization plot a course for the future in a country where whites are expected to be in the minority within the next 25 years." Professor Raymond Hall, retired sociologist at Dartmouth College, said, "e white majority controls virtually all the levers of power ... Black people, holistically, are relegated to circumstanc- es which make it difficult, if not impossi- ble, to extricate themselves from the bot- tom of the American economic ladder … e move from slavery to freedom in the aermath of the American Civil War did not then, and has not yet, brought a much needed avenue to economic viability for African Americans." Broadening recruitment pipelines, multicultural representation, antiracist practices and narrowing wealth dispar- ities will increase equity. What will you do in your organization? Abby Wam- bach, who wrote the book "Wolfpack" writes about women and leadership cre- ating new rules. Here are my suggestions for taking steps forward: · Make hard decisions elevating un- derrepresented classes that won't please everyone. · Listen to voices predominantly not heard in the past. · Everyone has a privilege, which means you have some power. Share it! · Prioritize being empathetic to others. · Acknowledge when you and others fail to be antiracist. Do better. · e arc of justice is long. Persist and never give up. Bonnie J. Walker is director of equity & inclusion at Worcester Academy, plying this arena for 16 years. Reach her at bonnie.walker@worcesteracademy.org. T he saying "Kill them with kindness," is instruction to be nice to the people who mistreat you, in an effort to pacify them, stop the mis- treatment, or endure it. In combating racism, kindness will never be enough. I've heard said, "We all just need to be nice to each other," and "If we all respect one another, everyone will get along." Being kind and respectful might decrease racist behavior and mitigate divisiveness, but it will not break down racist systems, nor eradicate hate. e insurrection on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 was conspicuously protected un- der a system (the highest government) on display for all to see. Where was the appropriate security and shut down of the mob? Is it no wonder so many, and pointedly people of color, are unsafe and feeling powerless where this would not be tolerated if the mob were composed of black and brown people? Kindness will not solve the problems like wealth inequality, nor create an access pipeline for higher education and in industry. How do we repair and make changes in our organizations? I asked Kristin Tichenor, vice president for enrollment at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, who said, "First, we need to be clear about the source of the problem we are trying to solve. e lack of diversity in higher education is not the result of an achieve- ment gap. It is the result of an equity gap. We have created a system designed to perpetuate privilege. e SAT is a prime example of systemic bias in the admissions process. We measure apti- tude using a standardized test that sys- tematically under-predicts the success of certain populations. Limited access to high quality K-12 academic programs is another example of systemic bias." Edward Walker, anti-racist educator and guidance counselor at Cambridge Ringe and Latin School, said, "Racial Kindness is not enough WITH BONNIE J. WALKER Outside the Box W

• Cover