covid-19 revealed that our field needs a reckoning

As a talent and workforce development professional, I spend my days (and nights) thinking about the myriad of systemic and institutional challenges that prevent communities of color and specifically Black communities from attaining economic mobility for themselves and their families. Challenges such as: inequitable transportations systems, limited child care options, segregated and under-funded school systems, an unjust justice system, and jobs that simply don’t pay enough plague Black communities at disproportionate rates. And while my workforce colleagues and I will say that we work day in and day out to address and mitigate these challenges, we are often unwilling to have one of the most important conversations of all: the role workforce development has played in maintaining the conditions underlying the current economic crisis that has displaced millions of workers.

Over the past two months we have watched travel stop, businesses close and millions of people file for unemployment. Many of our organizations kicked into high gear standing up relief funds, transitioning to virtual services (or at least doing our best to figure it out), conducting outreach calls, following up with jobseekers, responding to inquiries about unemployment and trying our best to adjust to the “new normal” while pretending as if we are all OK when we’re not. I’m pretty sure that many of us are experiencing vicarious traumatization as we watch our friends, family members and clients die, lose their jobs OR both. We know that we have a responsibility to show up differently for the people in our communities, especially Black people, however we are really struggling with what “differently” means for how we work.

As the reality of “pandemic living” sets in, we are forced to face the harsh reality that what began as a public health crisis has turned into an economic fatality. The public policies of this country and the inadequate HR policies and practices of many businesses has failed its citizens and now the field of workforce development is expected to respond. But how can we respond adequately if we won’t address our own failings and shortcomings as a field?

Don’t get me wrong, this field (whose history is directly connected to the Great Depression) has played an important role in: supporting dislocated workers, leading the charge on career pathway mapping, articulating the need for industry based credentials, providing successful models of OJT for workers and advocating for work experience opportunities for young people BUT it has also upheld the myth of meritocracy[1], treated the “employer as king” while undervaluing workers, created program criteria disproportionately impacting jobseekers of color, and perpetuated harmful cultural messages about Black people and other non-Black people of color seeking work. If we are keeping it real, this field that I (and many others) have worked in our entire careers has played a major role in producing and maintaining the inequitable outcomes among Black communities and non-Black communities of color that COVID-19 has so unashamedly put on display. What we all know is that these inequities aren’t new, however our acknowledgement of the role that talent and workforce development professionals have played in widening the gap is new.  

When I started focusing on the intersection of race, racism and workforce development, I was forced to face the reality that I too had played a role in keeping Black and other non-Black workers of color economically oppressed. By designing training programs to “meet the needs” of employers rather than challenging the institutional policies and practices of employers, I was upholding the status quo. Every time I framed the jobseekers I worked with as “low-skilled” I was reinforcing the negative cultural messages that Black people and other non-Black people of color aren’t skilled and therefore need to be “taught how to be job ready”. And every time I chose to connect jobseekers to low-wage, dead end jobs, I sealed the fate of their entire family because of the harsh reality that career advancement opportunities for Black and non-Black workers of color in predominantly white industries are rarely accessible to them.

Now that we have seen just how dependent millions of people are on industries that are unstable and jobs that keep predominantly Black and non-Black workers of color stuck in low-wage, marginalized positions we MUST do something different. However, I have not heard many talent and workforce development professionals talk about what that difference will be. At a time when we should be pushing harder for quality jobs - those with healthcare benefits, paid sick leave and true living wages (at least $30/hour per worker for a family of four per the stability budget outlined in the ALICE report[2]), we are scrambling to simply get back to “business as usual” and deem creating “access” for all of those in need as enough. Instead of standing in solidarity with our advocate partners, community activists and policy makers who are naming structural racism as the root causes of the issues, we are standing on the sidelines still trying to keep our employer partners and funders happy.

We need to be real. We need to name our role in creating the current dynamic and then we need to show up differently, authentically and be willing to take risks to advance racial equity. I sincerely believe that the field of workforce development has the opportunity to change the game for good and make serious strides in closing the racial wealth gap. I truly believe that WE hold the key because our system intersects with ALL of the other systems (health, housing, education, financial, etc) that work together to keep People of Color economically oppressed. If we chose not to acknowledge the power that we hold and use that power to change systems instead of people we will be right back where we are when the next crisis hits.

We have power and we can be the change we want to see in our communities, the question is: Are we ready to use our power to positively disrupt and challenge the status quo in workforce development in a real way? If you answered yes, here are a few things you can do:

1)   Examine the role that you and your organization has played (or currently plays) in perpetuating racial inequities;

2)   Adopt a racial equity and/or anti-racism framework to your programming, operational and organizational policies and practices;

3)   Commit to a life-long practice of learning and self-reflection on issues of race and racism;

4)   Identify a community of people committed to racial equity and anti-racism who can hold you accountable to living and practicing the principles of the work.

This is far from an exhaustive list of things that you can do, but if you agree to do something different and you mean it, this is a good place to start. The choice is yours, but know that if you choose to continue with “business as usual” you will be making a deliberate choice to perpetuate racial inequity. What will you do?

Clair Minson is a talent and workforce development professional with a specific focus on systems change and working at the intersection of race, racism and workforce development. She is passionate about changing the outcomes for people of color for generations to come and is a fierce advocate for race-conscious programming and policy design. All opinions are her own.