🎾 What I told Wimbledon about Black History Month

🖤 Black History Month saw me take to Centre Court.

Not quite to go toe to toe with Alcaraz but to share my experience building DIVERSE and #Merky FC.

To be honest this has been a quiet Black History Month.

With fewer initiatives and programmes then when DE&I was the hot topic.

In some case, this might be due to more employers taking a more strategic approach to connecting to the Black community consistently throughout the both through their consumer and employer brands.

We certainly work with companies operating in this way, pushing to get as far away from box ticking LinkedIn company page posts with no real substance.

I had the pleasure of speaking and sharing the stage with GB Paralympian Vanessa Wallace and Rushan Tonge-bobia, Co-Founder of SheCanServe to celebrate BHM with Wimbledon Tennis.

And I wanted to share something that stood out to me…

The Black British community has been through it’s fair share of challenges throughout history.

And today, nationalist groups feel empowered to speak out against immigration and diversity.

Seeing and feeling this in the street combined with being one of the few or only Black individuals at work can be incredibly stressful.

But myself and the panelists shared that we’re not looking for sympathy but empathy and new opportunities.

We all agreed that we’re all for employers and brands launching social impact campaigns and benefiting both commercially and culturally from a connection with the black community.

We understand we’re bringing value but we also understand the important role corporations have to play in bridging the cap between where we are now and a more equal and equitable society.

So when it comes to asking budget holders for investment to reach diverse audiences whether that be to promote a sports competition, product or a job, don’t shy away from focusing on whats in it for them commercially.

Whether that be because diverse teams are 70% more likely to capture new markets or because 53% of UK people say their purchase decisions are influenced by brands diversity and inclusion efforts.

Because if thats what it takes to get the money to make the difference then thats what it takes.

Book a call here if you want to chat with me about attracting more diverse early to mid level talent.

Until next time 👋🏽

Tobi

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