Ten ways I make Black Lives Matter at Klick X
I know I’m a white woman talking about race and that in itself is a problem. On the upside, I was raised by an anti-racist.
I grew up in Queensland, yep, same state as Pauline Hanson and her fish and chip shop.
But my folks were having none of it.
They drove me around the neighbourhoods of Brisbane that each had a ‘boundary road’ and explained that those were once boundaries for Indigenous Australians. I was told how much of our system was in our favour and how that was not right, just or fair.
I grew up with an awareness of the systemic problems facing Indigenous Australians.
But as I ventured away from Queensland and into my career, I chose to ignore what I had known since I was young. I saw racism and did nothing. I got comfortable and convinced myself that I couldn’t change anything now.
I was wrong and I am ashamed.
So what do you do when you realise you’re on the wrong track? You change direction.
As the leader of Klick X, I have come up with the following recommendations to create an inclusive workplace for my global team members.
You’re welcome to use to these ideas, share them and tell me what else I could be doing – this is a work-in-progress.
1. Establish an inclusive aesthetic
My team and I are working to diversify Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) representation across all of our channels and we are challenging our clients to do the same.
Moving forward our imagery will not only feature Black people as models, but we will have BIPOC working behind the scenes too.
Our goal is to contribute to an industry where the new precedent is inclusive employment. We are going to achieve this by ensuring our team of Klick Xperts and freelancers is more diverse.
2. Recruit and nurture Black talent
We are going to create career opportunities for BIPOC so we are actively contributing to a more progressive, inclusive industry.
Ultimately, we want Black representation amongst our leadership team. To get there and increase the pool of talent in this space, we are building partnerships with schools, colleges and universities to offer work experience opportunities.
We are also removing the need for a degree as part of our recruitment specifications and as part of our recruitment process we will be working to understand personal perspectives on race and racism for all prospective team members to gain a deeper understanding of their morality.
A zero-tolerance policy to racism is now one of our HR policies.
3. Inclusive influencer marketing
When preparing recommendations for clients on prospective influencer partners, we will now ensure that at least 25 per cent of proposed talent are BIPOC, prioritising Black and Indigenous people.
We are also introducing new guidelines to review influencers and ensure they are not involved in any controversies surrounding race.
4. Make racism an everyday conversation
We have introduced an internal Slack channel aimed to discuss BIPOC topics to drive continued momentum and awareness.
Through this dedicated channel, we share news about inspirational Black figureheads, the Black Lives Matter movement and how businesses are contributing to race relations. The aim of this initiative is to stay connected and encourage everyone to think critically about how racism intercepts with their everyday life.
5. Learn more, do better
Ongoing learning is a compulsory part of Klick X’s growth and we will engage BIPOC to educate us on various topics including cultural appropriation, being actively anti-racist and Indigenous social justice.
These sessions will be open to clients too.
An annual book budget will be introduced for books written by BIPOC or that tackle themes around racism. This will be extended to children’s book for employees who are parents.
Our books and films for FY21 are:
- Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe (also a Children’s edition)
- How to be an anti-racist, Ibram X Kendi
- White Fragility, Robin Diangelo
- Why I am no longer talking to white people about race, Reni Eddo-Lodge
- Australian Dream, Adam Goodes
- It Runs in My Blood
6. Client collaboration
All client proposals will include information on inclusivity with the aim of providing insight that amplifies the voices of groups that are often left out of the narratives when it comes to customer representation.
We will ensure we align our values with prospective businesses, and ask them how they represent BIPOC and Black Lives Matter within their own business.
7. Drive anti-racism in our community
In 2020/21 we will contribute to grants to Indigenous people to pursue a career in the creative and communications industry.
These people will be mentored by the Klick X leadership team and the funds will be used for education and equipment.
Our aim is to create an ongoing graduate program for Indigenous creatives and give them a learning platform and job opportunities at Klick X.
8. Practical contributions to dismantling systematic racism
We have also introduced ‘Proactive Change” day where we collectively decide how we want to help our Black and Indigenous Australian communities.
9. The 24 rule
Those who have non-European and Indigenous backgrounds make up an estimated 24 per cent of the Australian population therefore Klick X will introduce the 24 rule.
The 24 rule is about promoting inclusivity, accountability and support of Black, Indigenous and broader POC in Australia.
We will ensure that our work – from social media imagery to the causes we support – represent that percentage of BIPOC Australians at least.
10. Vote
When it comes to election day, I will be voting for the party that best aligns with the values and strategies outlined above. It’s time to make Black Lives Matter not just in our heads and hearts, but in our homes, our businesses and across all tiers of government.
