We’d rather discuss age and gender in the office than race, as incidences of racial harassment in the workplace rise
When it comes to touchy subjects in the office, it turns out talking about race makes us more uncomfortable than discussing age or gender.
In a survey by Business in the Community (BITC) of 24,457 UK employees, 37 per cent said they thought their colleagues would be comfortable discussing race, compared to 44 per cent for age and 42 per cent for gender.
Meanwhile, 30 per cent of the respondents said they had witnessed or experienced racial harassment in the workplace in the last year, which is an increase compared to surveys BITC has run in previous years.
And 55 per cent of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees said they felt like a valued member of their team at work, compared to 71 per cent of white employees.
“It is clear that ethnic minorities’ experiences of work are still not equal to their white peers,” said Sandra Kerr OBE, race equality director at BITC.
And Richard Iferenta, tax partner at KPMG, added: “All employers share the responsibility to make opportunity the norm for future generations.”