Newham Council will partner with Race Equality Week – from 7 to 13 February – which will unite thousands of organisations to tackle race inequality at work.
A UK-wide initiative, Race Equality Week was launched by community interest company Race Equality Matters to turn words into meaningful action. It is a movement spurred on by the events of 2020, which have heightened the country’s collective consciousness of the racism, inequality and injustice experienced by ethnically diverse communities.
More than 2,000 organisations participated in the inaugural Race Equality Week in 2021. The 2022 theme #ActionNotJustWords was selected by Race Equality Network leaders and those with lived experience of racial discrimination and race inequality.
They were asked to rank several options for this year’s Race Equality Week, and #ActionNotJustWords scored the highest, with a 78 percent vote.
#ActionNotJustWords reflects ongoing findings and feedback from ethnically diverse communities: there has been a lot of talk since 2020, many empty promises, and a lot of PR gesturing, but that overall, little has changed.
Surveys within the Race Equality Matters community revealed that 72 percent of participants thought “very little, not enough, or no change at all” had happened, despite 66 percent of them feeling their leaders and managers are committed to tackling race inequality.
For those facing and living with race inequality in the workplace and beyond, this status quo is frustrating, and emotionally harmful. People feel disillusioned by the amount of talk and the lack of progress seen. At Newham we are demonstrating the value of talking and action.
London Borough of Newham CEO Althea Loderick said: “As the Chief Executive, leading a genuinely anti-racist and inclusive organisation is one of my highest priority objectives and in Newham, it is imperative that the communities we serve experience that commitment in all of their interactions with the Council.”
- Race Equality Week is a positive force for action - #REW2022.
For more information and to participate, visit raceequalitymatters.com