Making our own moves – Brownstone EDI Guru, AI that works for us
Making our own moves– Brownstone EDI Guru, AI that works for us
This May, we mark five years since George Floyd’s brutal public lynching and the flurry of UK BAFTA-worthy performances by PR and communications organisations ‘supporting’ DEI or EDI, which I prefer (because we really need to prioritise equity). The latest message is that EDI is being deprioritised, scaled back, and withdrawn. I empathise with and support our cousins across the pond, but the UK is not in the same boat.
What is the problem?
Many global majority professionals are having a miserable time at work through hostile workplace cultures and the scarcity of workplaces where we are safe. Meaning going to work can be like going to war, impacting our physical and psychological health and that of our descendants. (Source 1.)
UK Black Comms Network One Step Forward Two Steps Black Report 2024 found:
Workplace Culture
Four in five (82%) Black and mixed-race communications professionals continue to experience indirect racial discrimination at work.
65% ignore microaggressions and racist comments
Over two-thirds (68%) have considered leaving the PR industry
More than two-thirds (68%) plan to leave the industry
The PRCA census PRCA Census 2024, published last December, showed that 49% of all practitioners in 2024 reported experiencing workplace discrimination or prejudice in the past 12 months. The most common factors cited were:
Age (19%),
Gender (18%),
Race/ethnicity (12%),
Sexual orientation (7%),
Disability (5%),
Religion or belief (4%)
Ethnicity pay gap of 25.6%
Making our own moves
Last December I fulfilled a long-held desire to help people in the workplace to self-advocate. I was especially concerned about global majority employees in communications because my experience has been one of relentless toxicity with a liberal dose of gaslighting. Moreover, Black women are often the primary target.
Brownstone EDI Guru was developed to create a psychologically safe workplace for everyone. Removing the complete reliance on leaders and HR. Based on the Equality Act of 2010 and EDI Guru’s AI-generated chat, we can self-advocate using UK law rather than the whims of organisations. All employees benefit from learning about lawfully acceptable behaviours through this confidential service. The subscription breaks down all nine of the protected characteristics and offers solutions in a workplace context. It also includes free areas to learn about money, pay, Intersectionality and Neurodiversity (coming soon).
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Ends:
Source: 1. Mind UK :
Vicarious, historical and intergenerational trauma
Racism may also have a traumatic impact on you even when you didn’t encounter it personally.
Vicarious trauma. This is when seeing or hearing about racism towards someone else feels traumatic to you. It may also bring back painful memories of your own experiences.
Historical trauma (or historical loss). This is when you are affected by the realisation of how your racial group has been oppressed over time.
Intergenerational trauma. This describes how racial trauma can get passed down in families across generations - from parents to children
This is currently being studied within the field of Epigenetics.