Kelly Burke

LGBTQI people face exclusion and discrimination in the workplace. People who are less advantaged socioeconomically are most at risk of poor treatment and marginalisation, and a different sexual and/or gender orientation to the majority exacerbates this. At the level of individual companies in South Africa, there is insufficient, if any, formal and specialised workplace support for LGBTQI people. Informally, some co-workers and employers do provide support and show acceptance in the workplace and don’t show favouritism according to sexual orientation and gender. However, overall, there is little effective support, and it is too easy for a recruiter or employer to simply ignore certain candidates who apply for work or promotion on the basis of demographic factors. There are at least two organisations making headway, however. The Shambhala Organisation promotes and supports LGBT business leaders specifically. Shambhala invests in LGBT owned and managed high-potential businesses. These investments are combined with mentorship and support towards meeting business objectives. We need dedicated business chambers for and active in the LGBTQI community. We need several focusing on each group because the issues faced by the various members in the community are not the same. Transgender people face a different fight in the workplace compared to people who are homo- or bisexual, for example. Nevertheless, it is great news that Africa’s first business network for LGBTI+ people was launched in 2016. The network has offices in Johannesburg and is called PLUS the LGBTI+ Business Network. It is an ‘African trust that advances equality and freedom in southern Africa, with a particular focus on sexual orientation and gender identity.’ PLUS champions, promotes, supports and empowers South African LGBTI+ business owners and entrepreneurs with opportunities for learning, networking and conducting business for prosperity. PLUS aims to redress structural and economic injustices of the …

Can We End Racism? What it Means to Conscientise - By Devan Moonsamy CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute Conscientise is a somewhat new (1960s) and tricky-to-pronounce term, but the concept is a wonderful ally in the diversity process. Some pronounce the word as con-chi-en-chise; others say con-chen-tize. The latter seems to be the most common in South Africa and is the simplest. Never mind how you say it, though, so long as you get busy with it. A basic definition is that it is to make yourself and others aware of important social and political issues. Conscientising is ensuring everyone knows their rights and responsibilities, but it also includes those nuances and subtle understandings that are more difficult to put into a list of dos and don’ts. To illustrate what it means to be conscientised in the workplace, think of someone coming in late to work. How a manager approaches the problem should differ based on their (conscientised) understanding of the employee and their circumstances. For those who have no choice but to use public transport to get to work, particularly unreliable forms of transport, and especially on a day when there has been a strike, the response should be one of understanding and sympathy for the stress they are likely feeling. What about employees with very young children? How do they warrant special consideration at times? A conscientisied person is aware of these types of factors and their gravity, and will generally be better equipped to handle diversity and a variety of problems. In the workplace, conscientising is part of education, training and development. It is specifically identified as a precursor to the action of challenging inequalities in treatment and opportunities. People must know the power they have to do good and correct wrongs before they can achieve the ideals of equality and a non-racist society. Combating racism is thus about conscientising ourselves and others. Notions of race-based inferiority are combated …

The future of work: Should Africa resist automation in the workplace? By Devan Moonsamy CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute There has been a lot of buzz about the ‘future of work’ recently. There is major concern over who will become redundant and how this will happen – and rightly so. Wits recently conducted a review of research on the topic and found that most authors studying the issues are in fact negative or at least quite concerned about the impact of technology on employment prospects and society in general. People do benefit from various technologies. We have all experienced how they make our lives better in certain ways, for example, in healthcare. However, redundancy remains a major fear associated with the increased use of technology in the workplace. In Australia and the UK, for example, checkout staff at grocers and other major retailers have almost disappeared. Instead, checkouts at stores like Target (which is much like our Edgars) and Woolworths in Australia (similar to our shop of the same name, but a different company) are self-service. Petrol pumps are also self-service. If South Africa follows suit, this spells doom for many, many workers in these industries, and the majority of them are black and those most in need of employment opportunities. The Edcon group (which includes Edgars, CNA and Jet, among others) has about 39 000 employees, while the Shoprite group (Checkers, House and Home and others) has 147 000 employees, some of whom are in other African countries. We naturally feel afraid of the prospect of any of these people losing their jobs. We need many, many more jobs in South Africa. Fewer jobs is not a viable solution to our economic challenges, and so certain technologies can do more harm than good. If major retailers and petrol companies decide to go the automated checkout route in South Africa, we will likely have massive protests and even boycotts. We could expect that workers themselves – as well as customers – will …

Is Diversity Receiving Enough Attention in Corporate Training? By Devan Moonsamy CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute I’m proud to be the owner and CEO of the I Can Help Africa Foundation (ICHAF). We’ve been in the training business for over a decade, and I can look back on many challenges surmounted and successes achieved over the years. I always try to stay in touch with what our students and clients are saying and relate it to what I am doing. I pause to consider: Are ICHAF programmes making a difference and how big is that difference? Is it workplace-related or does it also lead to personal growth and the forging of good relationships in the context of diversity? Diversity is of critical concern to South African organisations. I wonder if even our entry-level qualifications make a difference in terms of diversity. Do ICHAF students feel their learning experiences are not only relevant to their jobs, but also offer some guidance on getting along with people who are different? Recently having co-authored a book about diversity and conducting diversity seminars as well as serving as a mediator in diversity-related conflict situations, diversity is constantly on my mind. I also recently had the opportunity to speak about immigration issues in the workplace – another important diversity variable in South Africa – on the etv Morning Show. So what have ICHAF students to say about the effect of our learning programmes on them? I was particularly interested in our entry-level programme, the NQF1 Business Practices course, which is a great way to get staff training started for just about any staff member. It is a year-long course, and there is a lot of focus therein on business skills like finance, computer use, customer care, etc. It is all very well having these skills, but if people can’t get along, we will never truly realise our goals, feel true fulfilment in our work, and make a difference in other people’s lives. I had to know what our students are …