Our voices are not being heard
Our faces are not being seen
Our skills and uniqueness not appreciated
Our identity not being acknowledged
The plight of a black person
In a big white world
Is not pleasing
Not easy to comprehend
Attend, any board meeting
You won’t find us
Senior leadership seems to be beyond us
If you just go by the numbers
Lumped into a group called BAME
Feels like a game
That big businesses play
‘Let’s tick some boxes
Show that we care
Let them have a network
Make them feel catered for
Dangle a small budget
To cover an event or two
Like bringing in your own food
A cultural event to lift the mood
Celebrate Black History month
Put on a few talks’
But never really talk
About what’s real
What matters and how to solve what’s going on
Doesn’t feel like we are trying to change the song
We have been singing for years
An enormous elephant in the room
That this group
Is not kept in the loop
When it comes to progression and engagement
Everyone talks inclusion
Shouts about diversity
However, it’s clear to see
That we are far behind
If there are no black people in your senior team
Something’s up
If there are no black people getting promoted
Something’s up
If black people are not speaking up in meetings
Something’s up
If black people are not part of the vision setting and strategy
Something’s up
I’m not talking affirmative action, quotas or helping hands
I’m talking for the good of the business
For the good of employees, customers, stakeholders
A whole population of leaders, thinkers and visionaries
Have been sitting on the sidelines
For too long
Made to feel inferior
Despite all the I&D talk
We are no nearer
To where we need to be
Stop wheeling black people out
Just for the I&D spot
Let them share the business experience
They have got
To transform, to innovate
To establish new ways of thinking
To be at the forefront
To shake up industries
To reawaken the spirit and energy
Within the corporate space
The sound of a black voice
Needs to be heard
Reverberated around the world
Listened to, admired and respected
Their content, ideas, experience analysed and dissected
To bring solutions, provide answers
And achieve company goals
Biases need to be broken
White privilege laid out in the open
The playing field needs levelling
The prospects for black employees
Has been dishevelling for too long
It’s time for change
If you are white and the presence of blackness is uncomfortable
Deal with it
Black people have been dealing with the discomfort
Of being the only black face in the room
All their working lives
There is no excuse for skirting around the topic
Changing the subject
Or putting your head in the sand
It’s the responsibility of all to take a stand
To call out what is not right
To fight for real inclusion
Black, white, Asian
Whatever your persuasion
Understand and recognize
The role that you play
In turning the tide
In closing the gaps
That have become far too wide
Representation is key
Lanre Sulola is a leadership coach, trainer and poet currently working as senior development coach and facilitator at Inner Ambitions.
