Texts for Translation 2008:
  Theresa Oakley-Smith & Shegesi Mokgosi

The Elephant in the Drawing Room

The recent results from the International Institute for Management Development show that South Africa has dropped 12 positions to 50th in the global competitiveness rankings. This is the most significant drop of all countries rated and bodes badly for our developing economy. However what is more interesting is that the predominant reason given for this by the International Productivity Institute is “discrimination”.

Gathered in the drawing room, whites clustered on one side and blacks on the other (with small groups of Indians and coloureds on the fringes) we express consternation. “Why should discrimination have an affect on productivity” we ask ourselves, “Is it affirmative action? Could it be to do with gender or possibly religion?”  Mr Sello Mosai, Executive Manager of Knowledge Management at the South African Productivity Institute protests that “I wouldn’t think that a representative sample of South Africans would feel that discrimination is hindering economic development to that extent.”

The elephant in the drawing room shifts uneasily and knocks over a lamp stand but we resolutely ignore him.  We deny that he exists. We walk around him, clamber over him; reorganize the furniture so that he has more space, ignore the loud and persistent sound of his breathing and the offensive smell that he creates in our otherwise impeccable drawing room.

The black group exchange knowing glances in the direction of the elephant. They understand only too well what discrimination means but don’t wish to mention it in this company for fear of being accused of playing the “elephant” card. Some of them even join their white counterparts in pretending he doesn’t exist because they have learned through time and experience that if they wish to fit in and be promoted in this company, they should deny the existence of the elephant at all costs. A little far fetched perhaps, but absolutely typical of the kind of articles one has read regarding racism and the experiences one has had of it in many organisations, institutions and companies.

The elephant in the drawing room is indeed a massive beast and he has been there a very long time. Initially we petted him and played with him and tempted him out with a range of rainbow goodies. When that didn’t work we passed laws prohibiting the rights of large mammals to stay in drawing rooms and requested all companies to report broadly on the  large mammal situation at least annually. Inspectors were sent to some workplaces when there were rumblings of non-compliance but still, more than ten years after democracy the elephant remains in the drawing room becoming more ensconced by the day.

Racism is an ugly word which is even uglier in practice and like it or not we have not done nearly enough to confront discrimination in our workplaces. It affects how people feel, how they perform and eventually how and what they produce. So the profitability of organisations is inevitably negatively affected by racism. Yet it is still, rather like homosexuality in the forties, the prejudice” that dare not speak its name”. As South Africans we can speak about gender, wax eloquent on religious differences and talk about and attempt to integrate the differently- abled. Yet the one over arching form of prejudice which most seriously impacts our productivity is rarely called by its name. Indeed if we are white we feel outraged and insulted that we might be considered racist, we deny it strenuously and refuse to deal with it. However like the elephant in the drawing room unless we deal effectively with racism and this begins by accepting and acknowledging its presence, it will not go away.

Yes in spite of our horror struck denials, “how can you accuse me of being racist!” racism is alive and well in most South African workplaces and like the elephant in the drawing room is creating more and more problems. In some companies it is an angry rowdy ill disciplined beast using profane and hate speech, preferring to use separate amenities and refusing to integrate. In other companies, because the elephant is a wise beast he is far more subtle, no “k” words for him but more nuanced and subtle behaviour; this elephant is almost tame, “he’s one of our elephants” we say. But inside himself this elephant is also seething and his anger is building. He is not going to be “one of our elephants” for long.

Occasionally the tame elephant bursts from its shackles causing much tut- tutting. Meetings are called. The Managing Director comes down from his (or more rarely her) lofty office and calls a meeting for all staff to assure them that whatever has happened has absolutely nothing to do with the elephant. On his way out he steps into a pile of dung and slips a little in his well polished brogues.

And so the scenario of racism is played out in different ways in different styles in different companies but still the elephant remains in the drawing room seemingly unnoticed by most. The question is then, how do we address racism in our workplaces? What do we call it and how can we combat it. Like the elephant, it is growing increasingly comfortable and is harder to get rid of than it was in the heady days, post 1994. Firstly we must understand what it looks and sounds like. Usually we can recognise it by what it says; it involves verbal racial abuse, taunting and name calling, as well as mimicking accents and shouting. Colleagues being racially abused may well feel isolated and ostracized. Racial discrimination can result in actual violence and for the recipient stress, anxiety and depression often necessitating time off and long periods of sick leave as well as feelings of self hatred, inferiority and self destruction. Other obvious forms of racism include, inappropriate jokes, unfair allocation of tools and resources based on race as well as the exclusion of particular races from areas and facilities.

Some of the less obvious examples of workplace racism include unwritten rules about who sits where and with whom, preference with regard to the application of policies given to certain groups, unfair monitoring, language based exclusion, the refusal to adequately assist individuals administratively during or after employment with the organisation and of course stereotyping.  All of the above forms of racism have a huge impact not only on teams and individuals within companies but also on the bottom line of companies in which racism exists.

And so, having agreed that there is indeed an elephant in the drawing room in order to move it we must call it by its name; racism, euphemisms just won’t do. We need to understand how and where it manifests in our own organisation. We can do this by implementing a culture/climate survey with quantitative and qualitative components designed to address issues of prejudice. We then need to be bold enough to accept that race is part and parcel of our organisation and be prepared to share the results of the survey with our workforce. We need to meet as leadership to develop an effective strategy to combat racism, be prepared to implement the strategy, afford it a realistic budget and shift the elephant and all of its impedimenta out of the drawing room and out of the house once and for all.

From the outset we need to develop a clear and unambiguous policy for our organisation explaining what racism is, in the context of our sector and industry, how it is manifested, what behaviour and language we consider racist. This policy once agreed and approved by the relevant stakeholders should be communicated to all. The policy should then be connected to existing or newly developed procedures that define for all managers how to deal with accusations or allegations regarding racism. And when they surface, as they will, because the elephant is difficult to move, they should be dealt with according to the policy and procedure in a firm and consistent way.

Given our history and remembering the words of Goethe, “there is nowhere as distant as our recent past” it may be necessary to run effective training and education sessions addressing racism so that all employees understand and buy into the company’s policy. Such training will give employees an opportunity to discuss and confront racism as it plays out in their work place, they will have an opportunity for some real same-status contact and will be able to confront and address issues in a safe facilitated environment.  However training is not a stand alone or a quick fix in this (or any) situation. It needs to be supported by relevant action and measurable objectives.

Key performance indicators need to be introduced into the Performance Management System addressing racism. All employees need to be assessed on behaviours relevant to combating racism and developing a working environment which values and appreciates all the differences that we as South Africans have. Managers at more senior levels should have bonuses and other monetary rewards impacted by their ability to deal effectively with racism, in the same way that their financial performance is measured. If incidents of racism occur frequently in particular departments or divisions, managers must be held accountable.

Racism affects almost every aspect of the working environment and this includes retention because employees will not stay where they are not valued. Where racism exists black employees are demeaned and devalued on a daily basis. Racism impacts too on recruitment and selection and on promotion and development opportunities. The word soon gets out that an environment is racist in a particular company or organisation and under such circumstances it will be very difficult if not impossible to attract the best and the brightest.

And finally and perhaps most importantly, to really get the elephant out of the drawing room needs effective leadership. The leadership of the organisation needs to take a very clear stance, a zero policy approach, as far as racism is concerned. Eliminating racism should be a key strategic requirement for any leadership team.  Company communication should spell out the message clearly and emphatically that the organisation will not tolerate prejudice of any kind, and in particular racism. It will in all circumstances without fear or favour, act to stamp it out. Racism is a moral blot on South Africa’s working landscape, an unacceptable stumbling block to employee well being and organisational productivity. Like the elephant it will demand an effective strategy and very hard work to finally remove it from the drawing room but if we need the space to move, to grow and be productive in a global arena making up ground we have lost, we need to acknowledge and remove the beast once and for all.

Article:   Do we need a Racism TRC?

The recent article by Christina Qunta in The Star (April 25 2007) and a follow up article by Itumeleng Mosala published in the same newspaper (May 2 2007) raise again the important indeed critical question of race in South Africa. Ms Qunta suggests that the time is ripe to deal with it through a TRC process so that all of the issues can be publicly confronted and dealt with in an open process. I recall the days when the RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) was high on the political agenda, suggesting that we needed to look at reconstructing our attitudes to race. Certainly there is much merit in her suggestion. The issue of race will not simply go away if we leave it “to fester” as Mr Mosala so aptly puts it.

It is very difficult for white South Africans to understand and articulate sensitivities around race and I dare say many of your black readers (and some white) will feel it presumptuous of me to enter the debate. Ms Qunta however makes a very strong point which I am well aware of, which is that black South Africans are becoming increasingly angry with our failure to deal adequately with race and all of its subtleties and not so subtle nuances .Certainly I am aware of a growing anger and resentment in black friends and colleagues. Partly I believe this stems from our failure as white South Africans to acknowledge that racism is an issue. Because we haven’t experienced prejudice in this way it is perhaps not easy to empathise especially when one harbours guilt for the advantages that race bestowed on us in our recent past.

As a starting point, I think South Africa needs to put race very firmly on the agenda and into the curriculum of all its schools and universities. Understanding, respecting, confronting and negotiating race is a critical life skill for all of South Africa’s children.  As long as black children are unable to study their own indigenous languages and where teachers encourage families to “speak English at home” it is unlikely that the cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic disparities of race are allowed to surface. To coin Itumeleng Mosala “we need change not inclusion” .We need integration not assimilation. We need to learn about prejudice, how it is practiced, how it affected us all in the past and how it is playing out in the present. Surely a fundamental life skill for all South Africans should be learning about race and racial prejudice.

Reviewing the workplace, my major area of engagement over the past fourteen years, it seems to me that racism is more of a challenging issue now, than it has been since 1990. Many companies large and small are struggling with what it means and how to deal with it. Black victims of racism feel pain and anger and all too often whites are in denial accusing the victims of “playing the race card”. Part of the problem here stems from the fact that many organisations have never defined racism or developed an effective policy on how to deal with it. So when an incident occurs which is labelled racist, the company has nothing against which to measure it and all too often the situation either spirals into conflict or fades away into confusion and resentment. Furthermore, companies and organisations fail to see that developing an environment which values our differences is a strategic and competitive advantage. People will be attracted to and retained in an environment where they are valued and where they can be themselves. They will not be attracted to, nor remain in environments where they are labelled, degraded and stereotyped. (Note the recent “letter” incident at a leading bank). Until managers (of all colours) have key performance indicators around managing people of different races effectively; until bonuses depend on meeting equity and people related as well as financial targets and depend on  dealing effectively with racism, there will be no real change in the world of work.

Racism is profoundly important for productivity because it directly affects the way people feel and therefore act in the workplace. Recently the Trade Union Congress in Britain initiated an anonymous hotline where employees could call to discuss or report racism. They were inundated with calls and the cost to Britain’s productivity as a nation was described as “incalculable”. Surely the situation is even worse in South Africa.

So how is racism played out in the workplace? Institutional racism has been defined as “the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin which can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amounts to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantages mainly ethnic people” (McPherson Enquiry )

In South Africa in 2007 it wears various guises ranging from the overt use of hate speech, name calling (the “k” word is common parlance in many organisations), white employees refusing to use the same amenities such as change areas and restaurants; to the more subtle failure to promote and advance, failure to award responsibility commensurate with job level, having lower expectations of black employees (and therefore having these expectations lived up to).

While Itumeleng Mosala takes black South Africans to task for failing to stand up to racism adequately the effects of so doing can be difficult to live with in the work place. They include being side-lined and marginalised, being labelled a “trouble-maker”, having inadequate or no skills transfer from more senior whites. Effects also include physical and mental illness and dealing with high levels of stress.

It is in the interest of all employers and Trade Unions to understand acknowledge and effectively challenge racism in the workplace. It is certainly not simply about it being the right thing to do, or being politically correct. The Improvement of race relations impacts positively on productivity and profits. It impacts very significantly on people’s sense of self and purpose in the workplace. A workplace where racism is accepted is a lose-lose situation for employee and employer.

So where do companies start? Firstly they should have an effective policy in place which spells out how that company understands and will treat racism; with effective procedures in place for the implementation of such a policy. An organisation may need to audit the organisational culture to understand how and in what areas racism is being practised. Company induction programmes should incorporate training in race relations.  The assessment of performance of all employees should have measures to assess competencies in these areas and at more senior levels reward and incentive should be affected by issues of racial equality. Most importantly creating an environment free of prejudice of all kinds should be part of the strategic vision of organisations led and communicated by executive leadership.

If our workplaces take an active stand in addressing racism this will have a spin off effect in the outside world, and may play a part in changing racist attitudes of South Africans at large. Otherwise, as Itumeleng Mosala reminds us “Black South Africans continue to bleed and their wound is festering dangerously”. Without significant efforts to change racial attitudes and behaviours in schools, tertiary institutions and workplaces, and while our national sporting codes are predominantly white in many cases still, it might well be that we need to go the route of a TRC process advocated by Christina Qunta.

Theresa Oakley-Smith is a contributing editor to The Star. She is the Managing Director of Absolute Ndaba, a Change Management and Training Consultancy.

Theresa Oakley-Smith & Shegesi Mokgosi
(Absolute Ndaba)

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