A career platform only for Black and People of Colour (BPoC) – is this something we need in 2024? Isn’t our working world already diverse, inclusive, and fair? After all, Pride flags are being waved on LinkedIn, female leaders are giving interviews on female leadership and different nations are joining hands in employer branding. Positive coverage of successful diversity measures takes up a lot of space – and that’s a good thing. At the same time, the hard facts need to be addressed: people continue to be discriminated against, and the trend is rising.
Germany takes first place in the European racism ranking. Or in other words: last place when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to the European Union’s “Being Black in the EU” study from October 2023, 65 percent of respondents had experienced some form of racial discrimination in the previous twelve months – more than twice as many as in the last survey from 2016. It is therefore hardly surprising that companies and their HR departments are not free from discriminatory structures. The ADAN Career Day, the largest career fair for BPoC in Europe, was thus a welcome safe space for around 1,000 Black professionals in Frankfurt on 19 April 2024.
Getting the media excited about the ADAN Career Day
Alhaji Allie Bangura and Jonas Tesfai, the organisers of the ADAN Career Day, are knocking down open doors in the BPoC community. Employer demand is also increasing every year: 40 well-known companies were represented at the ADAN Career Day. More and more organisations are reviewing their recruiting strategies in light of the skills shortage and are discovering a lack of touchpoints with BPoC talent. The situation is different with media contacts: Although journalists have recognised the value of such an event and are committed to reporting on it, they repeatedly come up against limits: “I’m sorry, the boss doesn’t want the topic after all,” they say after the editorial meeting. This makes it even more important to approach the media in a targeted manner, establish reliable contacts, arrange interviews – and to have perseverance.
What’s great is that the media representatives who attend the ADAN Career Day in person experience the full energy of the BPoC community. 1,000 people who have met at previous ADAN Career Days or are networking for the first time. They know that all the companies present are genuinely interested. They tackle their career goals with self-confidence. Also inspiring are the many black role models who share insights and tips on how to realise professional dreams in panel discussions and workshops. And they look very different: Armand Zorn talks about his path to the German Bundestag, Niddal Salah-Eldin about her breakthrough to C-level and Nana Addison about founding her own company.
Racism in Germany: The inconvenient truth
At the same time, journalists learn first-hand about the many negative experiences Black and People of Colour have when looking for a job: Tracy, a participant in the ADAN Career Day, has sent out over 100 applications to companies in the Rhine-Main area in the last few months and has received hardly any feedback. A rejection was often accompanied by a questionnaire on personal characteristics such as ethnicity. This is how companies embellish their diversity figures, according to the motto: “We are an attractive employer for Black and People of Colour, but we don’t hire them.” So Tracy sent out the next 20 applications without a photo and date of birth – and suddenly interview invitations started pouring in. Ethnicity questionnaires? No more. She is not alone in this experience: according to an EU study, almost one in two respondents experienced racial discrimination when looking for a job (48 percent).
The journalists go home with full notebooks. Not only the atmosphere, but also the programme are usually a new experience. The best example of this is Dr Beyhan Şentürk’s workshop on dealing with racism in the workplace: She begins by asking who has ever been discriminated against on the basis of a racist attribution – in line with the study “Being Black in the EU”, a good two thirds raise their hands. Astonishing? No one among the ADAN Career Day attendees is surprised. A perspective that journalists are now bringing to their readership.
ADAN Impact, the social business behind the ADAN Career Day, and BCC Business Communications Consulting have been partners since 2022. The high level of expertise of Alhaji Allie Bangura and Jonas Tesfai also benefits BCC: the close collaboration has enabled BCC to build up knowledge in discrimination-sensitive communication.
Diversity with substance? Our offer:
- Presence at the ADAN Career Day: Would you like to have your own stand at the next ADAN Career Day to inspire talent for your company? Contact us and we will be happy to put you in touch.
- Corporate communications: Do you also face the challenge of raising awareness for your issue – regardless of current discourse cycles? We support you with your external communications, from concept to media relations.
- Cultural development: In our “Conscious Leadership” workshop format, we sensitise managers to the effects of discriminatory language on the working environment and productivity. Together we develop guidelines and measures to combat macro- and micro-aggression.
