Understanding Institutional Discrimination

There has been much debate and denial of the understanding of Institutional Racism so I thought I would break it down to something simple to help clarify what it actually is.

Let us imagine this picture represents an organisation's structures, practices, policies and traditions. A few were built to provide a space for knowledge and ideas to flourish. All are managed by 'The Guardians' the protectors of the knowledge.

Let's now imagine as is right and proper over the decades' some things become outdated. The wooden seats were replaced with padded chairs and gone were the blackboards, now replaced with modern AV technology. Wifi was installed, the floors were all carpeted and the walls were painted to give an up-to-date look.

As new generations of The Guardians came and went they were applauded for all the changes they made which gave them much pride. They were constantly highlighting their modernisations. 

But for one group it had never felt welcoming or comfortable even with all the changes. Initially, they didn't feel they had a voice or felt that they were allowed to be catered for but they really wanted to be part of the organisation so they were silent about their discomforts and adapted themselves to fit in. There were some in that group who tried to voice their concerns but they were hounded out and labelled rebels and trouble-makers. That group were the left-handers.  

The Guardians, all of whom were always right-handed, had been educated and moulded in those classrooms and so were deeply invested in defending it, pointing out the new tech and the brightly painted walls. They told the Left-handers that they were being disingenuous not to appreciate how much things had changed for the better.

Over time as the voices of the left-handers started to get louder and stronger The Guardians started to feel the pressure to acknowledge them so they made a chair in each classroom left-handed thinking that would appease them. However, that did not make them feel included. In fact, it further increased any resentment as there were right-handers who only saw that there was one chair less for them to sit on. 

As tensions increased The Guardians decided to take matters into their own hands and they issued directives about how left-handers should be embraced along with sanctions for those that did not comply.  

The left-handers applauded and acknowledged all the changes but continued to point out that with everything that had been done the one thing that had not changed was the fact that the classrooms still had a right-handed set-up.   

There were Guardians who were so invested in the right-handed set-up that they were deaf to that message and took the left-hander's comments as personal attacks.  They chose instead to become defensive and again the classrooms were updated with new technology and the cushions were replaced on the seats. They began to push constant good news stories about how wonderful the changes were and the good work that was being done by those who had graduated from those classrooms.

Then after a number of high-profile incidents things began to crack. These incidents led to inquiries and reports that said that concluded that the Right-handed system was not fit for purpose. It was also acknowledged that even though good work was being achieved, it was being done in a right-handed way meant that it wasn't as effective and efficient as it could be. It was called 'Institutional Rght-handedness.' They concluded that with all the changes that have taken place over the decades the one thing that had not been addressed was for the classrooms to have been made ambidextrous.

The Guardians saw this as 'political correctness or wokeness' and refused to acknowledge such a notion preferring instead to focus on what they felt was lacking, discipline and structure.

They saw the reports as attacking the very foundation upon which their values and principles were built and therefore did not see the need for the scale of change that was required. They were so invested in a system that had served them so well for so long that they were deaf as to what was actually being said and as a result, they gradually began to look and sound more and more behind the times and out of touch.

However, there were some shoots of hope that started to spring up. A new generation of Guardians was starting to emerge and they saw the problems clearly and began to become courageous and vocal about the changes that need to be made. Then there were now right-handers within the classrooms who were starting to become allies for ambidexterity.

Of all the times before there was something different about this movement and we all began to wait with bated breath... Was this the moment we had all been waiting for...

The journey continues.....