WREN Stories: Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

This month's WREN (Workforce Race Equality Network) Stories blog comes from Sifiso Nare, a Care Coordinator with the Community Rehabilitation Enhanced Support Team (CREST).

To mark Black History Month, the timing felt right for me to write a blog on the two main issues that I consider pertinent in multicultural Britain.

The cold wintry January was to mark the start of a new chapter in my life, as I arrived in Britain.

I had no idea where the wheel of fate was going to take me.

Like most immigrants, I had already completed tertiary education in my home country and when it was time to pursue a career pathway, naivety made me think that I could easily land a job in my area of expertise.

As I embarked into the journey of career pursuit, it dawned on me that the arrow of the wheel of fortune was not going to be pointing my way anytime soon. This is sadly the case for most foreigners who come here already qualified in different disciplines.

The solution to my pursuit was right before my eyes as when I scanned around I realised that for most immigrants, nursing was a field which many had embraced as that is where a job was guaranteed post qualification.

Like many, I wasted no time and undertook training in mental health nursing. I also had other personal reasons why I chose mental health nursing.

The nurse training was a great opportunity for me to assimilate and integrate into a new culture. One of the things that I was quick to realise or learn was that if you were not happy about something or someone, directly approaching them to inform them about your feelings was considered rude, confrontational or even aggressive. I realised a lot of people were confident to talk about people in their absence (maybe what I would term gossip) and then act like all was fine in their presence.

This was very different to how we would tackle things back home, where we believe that the best way will be to approach or inform that person so that they can know about your feelings and hope that this will then prompt a change of behaviour or attitude. I wonder if having this ingrained in us will be a factor in why most BAME staff are considered rude, confrontational or aggressive.

Fast forward to 2021, where I’m part of a team where I’m the only person that looks like me.

Yes, there is a colleague of the same ethnicity but because we have two very different roles and backgrounds, I consider myself the only one.

Teams pride themselves about inclusion or diversity but it’s not only about being invited to the party, it’s more than that; it’s about feeling welcome to dance too.

Every section of humanity prides itself about that which belongs to them. Naturally people will gravitate to what they are accustomed to, looks like them or has similarities with them, even in terms of office banter and many other reasons.

I don’t go to work to make friends and I’m fully aware that just like siblings we have no choice over who our work colleagues are.

Despite this realisation, I’m only human and at times yearn to speak to someone who would understand my concerns, frustrations and maybe should I add, accent too. I say accent as English is one language that is spoken in so many dialects. It is unfortunate that some use it as a measure of intelligence.

Does it mean a heart surgeon whose native language is German, Spanish, Greek etc cannot perform the procedure because they don’t speak English or with a familiar accent?

The way native English speakers sound when they pronounce our names must be an answer as to why non-native speakers must never be ridiculed for how they sound when they speak English.

Foreign workers are being ridiculed or misunderstood at places of work because of the way they speak; accent discrimination is a reality at places of work.

How culturally intelligent are managers or those in influential positions?

It would be unfair for me to put everyone under the same umbrella as I have come across Caucasian people who are warm-hearted and inclusive, and the same is applicable to my current team too.

Most immigrants come here as first generation immigrants who then establish families. We do not have an extended family support system to assist us with childcare. Some managers are not inclusive when we have challenges with childcare. There are a lot of BAME parents who are trying to balance pursuing a career and raising kids. To preserve their own mental health they have no choice but to quit substantive roles to work on the bank or agency thereby jeopardising their chances of career progression. Are exit interviews done, and if not why? Unless if there is an inconvenient fact, that there is a glass ceiling, which becomes tempered or reinforced.

I have a dream that my existence in such a diverse, multicultural society will enable me to be an ambassador, not only for the present generation but for future generations too.

That is the vision I have and hold not only for the NHS, but for Britain as a whole. Can the policies and procedures on diversity and inclusion not only exist on paper, can we see this being practised in real life too?