Earlier this week the global online community joined the protest against racial inequality and police brutality with a literal blackout across social media, as hundreds of thousands of people posted black tiles on their social media feeds in a sign of solidarity. Without saying a word, these individuals and brands united in saying the same thing: Black Lives Matter.
But as heartening as it was to see, creating lasting change will take a lot more effort than simply posting a black square and telling the world you believe black lives matter.
To make a real difference, it’s important to investigate and understand what lies behind the #blacklivesmatter hashtag. Because, bluntly, using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter is not enough.
To really understand what this statement means, businesses must first recognise the systems that enable racism and then seek to unpack the various intersectionalities of racial injustice, starting with how their organisations hire, promote and support black employees.
Leaders in organisations are being asked step up and commit to racial and social justice and there are companies, including within travel, that have responded sensitively to the movement.
Expedia Group chief executive Peter Kern penned an honest email to his employees highlighting that as a company, they were not "naive to the fact that we must do better in terms of our own diversity and we will, but what matters is that we as humans reject the killing of innocent people and the systemic racism that has plagued our country".
As a white male chief executive, Kern’s words to his employees have created an environment that promotes conversations of race and racism within the company.
The travel industry at its core is all about connecting people of different cultures, ethnicities, races and backgrounds. However, the silence from travel brands in the UK over the past week has been deafening.
According to the IPA’s Multicultural Britain 2012 report, the purchasing power of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (Bame) community is £300 billion per year and rising – ignoring the community doesn’t make sense either, morally or economically.
Silence can be as incriminating as saying the wrong thing. Diversity, inclusion and representation in the workplace matters, and if you have committed to equality and diversity targets, when there is an issue on equality and diversity of such magnitude you cannot remain silent.
In the words of Martinique Lewis, a diversity in travel consultant based in the US: "Now is the time for travel companies to put their money and resources where their mouths are.
"It’s not enough to say black lives matter if your actions don’t match. Being an ally means that you decide that you will ALWAYS speak up and speak out even when no one is looking.
"If you stand in solidarity with us then hire us for things other than diversity articles and panels. Pay us the same price you pay white professionals, consider us because we’re talented and not just because you have to check off a box. Now is the time."
It’s time the travel industry opened its eyes.
Jamie Lee Abtar is a global brand partnership consultant for destinations and travel brands, multi-cultural marketing advisor and the executive director of Bame Women in Travel CIC.
