New recruit complaining about lack of employees from ethnic minorities

[Dickieanddolly]

I work for an environment-focussed agency in one of the smaller UK countries. My team covers one of the more rural regions where the population is 99% white. Last year needed to recruit someone with specific qualifications and experience and the best candidate applied from India. She was the only applicant with the qualifications we were were looking for. She'd been to university in London, then returned to India where she'd gained several years of relevant experience. I interviewed her remotely and I and the HR rep talked to her about how our area was very different from her university city experience and may present challenges. She brushed off our concerns: she said she knew the UK and didn't anticipate any issues.

Within a couple of weeks of her starting the job I had feedback from her manager that she had talked several times about her discomfort at finding she was the only minority ethnic person on the team. I had an informal 'how's it going' chat with her when I encountered her in the office at the beginning of June and she said she was struggling, seeing so few people like her around. I asked her about her experience with colleagues and with the stakeholders she encounters in her work: was she encountering racism? She said no, everyone she'd met had been very nice and any minor 'off' comments were made out of ignorance and not intentionally. I asked if there was anything we could do to make the transition easier for her and she shrugged.

Yesterday a member of the team dropped in to update me on a new project. I was pleased to hear that our new recruit is working well and has come up with some ideas that will be trialled. Great. But apparently several of the team are on eggshells around her because of regular comments about how white everyone is. Several members of the team, appreciating the culture shock she must be experiencing, have done what they can to make her feel welcome. Many of us have had work experience abroad, often in developing countries (I spent a year in Malawi, for example), and know how hard it can be. She's been invited into peoples' homes, invited out at the weekend and her colleagues have introduced her to other people of colour elsewhere in the organisation and in town — and then worried that that might be seen as racist.

Any ideas on what more we can do to help her feel more at home? Anything I need to look out for/ be aware of?

LOL

Relying on some nonsense from Wiki. As if Wiki is the be-all-and-end-all for what terminology of the race card means.

You are welcome to scrape that barrel, just like the woman from India in the OPs post.

I am mixed race and have spent half of my life being the only person living somewhere that was just like the demographic make up of the area your company is in. I’m British born so maybe that’s why it’s not an issue as I get the culture, the good and bad of it but I honestly haven’t cared at all.

It’s bad form to complain everyone is white, imagine if the roles were reversed and a white person went to India and said this.

No one thinks ‘playing the race card’ means what you think it does. That’s ok. You just got it wrong. I want trying to start argument, I thought you might appreciate knowing for next time. No need to thank me.

because I can see you don’t believe me maybe the coins dictionary will convince you;

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/to-play-the-race-card

You have no idea what I am talking about ergo I have nothing to thank you for.

I can only guess you are not of a non-white background, which is exactly why you havent a clue what I have been explaining in this thread.

Your poor language skills show it (case in point "I want trying to start argument").

🤦‍♂️

As you were....

Hmm - as white British as they come… does that mean we can be friends??? 😂

I'll consider it when you get educated and can construct more cohesive sentences.

I guess sarcasm isn’t your strong point OP. Still, I’m glad we’ve got to the bottom of the race card issue. That would have been embarrassing for you otherwise.

I felt like this when I worked in China. Just got on with it and accepted it.

Considering that India has never colonised the UK as the UK did to India it isn’t remotely comparable.

No, no we don't need to get into colonisation, OMG!

In some ways I what counts for a minority in my area, not that I am harmed in any way so I say that tongue firmly in cheek. I’m white, but I’m not Christian and I am ND. I don’t fit in at all. People aren’t unwelcoming, but they don’t understand me either. It’s an extremely homogenous pocket of the world. There is no way to change that except for people continuing to move in and not fit the mold.

I personally think the two best ways for companies to show a commitment to diversity are to explore alternate channels of recruitment and to do outreach in communities to foster interest that helps get children on an educational path towards the skills needed to eventually join a similar company. If you want to emphasize the commitment, that is personally where I would start.

That's irrelevant here as it's the UK and UK equality laws are based on like-for-like treatment.

It’s relevant because it’s a nonsense comparison to say “imagine if a white person went to India and did this!” Completely different context. The UK has colonised several non-white countries and created the multicultural society we have today, so it’s reasonable to expect workplaces might reflect this. That’s not the situation in India.

It’s relevant because it’s a nonsense comparison to say “imagine if a white person went to India and did this!” Completely different context. The UK has colonised several non-white countries and created the multicultural society we have today, so it’s reasonable to expect workplaces might reflect this. That’s not the situation in India.

Thank you to those who offered balanced views and constructive suggestions. I feel reassured that we probably have done/ are doing all that can be expected — as one PP said, we're her employer, not her mother. I'm not unsympathetic to her: I can remember the loneliness and having to dig deep to cope with the culture shock of life in Malawi.

I'll take the line that we support where we can but ultimately this is about her and her suitability for the job. As someone upthread pointed out, it's not easy recruiting from abroad — there are extra complications and expenses — but we have done it in the past and people have settled for a few years before moving on. I'm going to feed back to HR and ask them to have a discreet word.

I sense that some people are coming at the situation from a multicultural, urban viewpoint with no understanding of what life in rural Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland might be like and the shortage of good rural jobs generally.

I can see the thread's now headed off into a murky area that I want nothing to do with, so I'm going to call it a day here.

Unfortunately with some people whatever you do they will have a chip on their shoulder.

Not half as embarassing as your terrible grasp of race or the English language - but still, commendable effort.

Well done you! Gold star on Monday!

Glad to see MNHQ have deleted one of your posts. At least fewer people will have to read your bile.

@Dickieanddolly

"I sense that some people are coming at the situation from a multicultural, urban viewpoint with no understanding of what life in rural Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland might be like and the shortage of good rural jobs generally."

Same could be said of the employee from India that was hired.

Clearly, she has no clue and elected to make it about how she feels being the only non white person there, forcing her colleagues to have to tread on eggshells around her for fear of her playing the race card.

I don't know who you're replying to but it's certainly not me. Not a good look, lobbing slurs without checking who you're responding to.

I called her ‘OP’ (which was a mistake) but I did actually quote her (in a long thread of back and forth comments) so I’m sorry you thought I was taking to you. I was talking to the person I was quoting and responding to.

That alone is racism. She needs to be told that these comments are not acceptable and don't make for an amicable work environment. She sounds a bit of a pain in the neck tbh.

If you choose to live and work in a fairly white area of the uk you don’t expect a multicultural workforce. It’s rude to make others feel uncomfortable when they haven’t done anything wrong. When she was in London it’s a shame she didn’t learn more about the uk as a whole. It’s also reasonable and fair for the staff to complain about their unease. No idea what to do about it - spent her and don a hard hat?!

You are wise to pick up on some of the constructive suggestions in this thread.

As her manager I would pull her in for a review, and feed back on the great job she is doing, how pleased you are with her work. After all, that is why you hired her!

Then I would schedule some good quality DEI training for her and anyone else in the team who needs it.

I would also ask her how she feels she is settling in. Do not take complaints without asking how she would see it being tackled. Challenge her to come up with some constructive suggestions.

I think asking HR to have a discreet word is best. If she is as intelligent as you say, she will change her ways.