Diversity Built Britain: Essay for Black History Month 2022

During this year's Black History Month, the ACB Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group invited members to submit their reflections on the 2022 Black History Month theme, Sharing Journeys.

We would encourage all members to read the essay submitted by ACB member Divine Azange, published below with their permission.

Essay for Black History Month 2022

Author: Divine Azange

Being black has mattered

Black History Month (BHM) is a period of reflection and recognition of diversity's positive role in shaping positive outcomes within our communities. I keep a 50-pence minted coin which says, ‘Diversity built Britain,’ as a reminder of the past and looking to the future. 

While BHM draws attention to the continued plight of being Black in Britain, it also shares culture, experiences and the humanisation of the Black experience. 

I believe that BHM is not only a season to recognise and celebrate Diversity’s positive role but also to acknowledge black heroes and allies who contribute to improving Black individuals' experience. Having allies is like having a mediator in a room that seeks to understand before being understood. They are people who may not understand your experience but can empathise. They may not always get it right, but they use every opportunity for genuine curiosity.

My backstory 

My professional journey has been one of humble beginnings, with a combination of laughter and remarkable challenges. The road on my journey is sometimes thorny, leaving some scars that may not be visible to the onlooker until you dig deeper.

I know I’m deeply fortunate to now have a leading role, helping to steer the ship of pathology services in England. Often, I get comments like, ‘You have done well for yourself,’ ‘How I wish I were in your shoes’ and, ‘You have accomplished much as a Chartered Scientist, Fellow of the IBMS and dual registered as a Biomedical Scientist and Clinical Scientist.’

With this narrative, I would count myself lucky to be a first-generation immigrant to England, having been raised by a single mum from a very young age, after my dad sadly passed away. My story is a true story of ’Diversity built Britain.’ As with every story, there are three versions: your perception, the facts and the truth. I think your perception is not for me to explain, as it will be unique to you. The facts are also straightforward. What I will try to bring focus to is my truth.  

Like other black scientists I have encountered on my journey, the accomplished scientist is visible externally, but underneath lies a journey of hurdles often unseen. I plan to explore that further – to humanise the journey and make it less rocky, so everyone can reap the benefits of embracing diversity, practical inclusivity and empathy. 

Underneath this accomplished scientist lies a reality that includes some preoccupation of whether I am psychologically safe to achieve or have my achievements recognised, and how the attention from these achievements could lead to malicious envy from those who see skin colour as a barrier, how skin colour may lead to increased surveillance with great suspicion. How being “Black” might increase the likelihood of being misunderstood or lower the threshold to trigger an unwarranted performance review, a dismissal of great ideas and a lack of appreciation of one’s experience. These are not just a ‘me’ problem, but the Black scientist problem.

As I navigate my professional journey, I am challenged to make a positive difference in reducing resistance in individuals who may see difference as a threat or a barrier to successful working. It is encouraging to see lots of work around positive black experiences across the country, which helps reduce barriers and makes the journey a little smoother. This means all-hands-on-deck in facilitating positive black experiences and the types of Diverse thinking that can support the best decision-making.

Is there a challenge? 

In pathology, treating the symptoms never cured anybody; it made many people feel better in the short term. A push to diversify the workforce is greatly welcomed. For this effort to be sustainable, a cure for the lack of diversity must include creating a healthy work culture where black scientists feel psychologically safe to thrive. 

As I engage with other black scientists, compared to their peers, a few challenges come up repeatedly. The challenge of facing unequal work burdens, disproportionate criticism, having to navigate a lack of collaboration or being undervalued are just some of the hurdles we all face in addition to the delivery of the day job. I think of these challenges as thorns on the road in the journey of a Black scientist. 

These thorns have a two-fold impact on them and upcoming talent: the struggle to have achievements at work recognised, a lack of well-being, and upcoming talent committing to smaller goals looking at how thorny the journey ahead might be.

Walking on a thorny road cannot be easy. I recall a moment on my journey when I faced significant difficulties with unproven allegations. Thresholds were lowered and the most plausible explanation excluded. This led to a cascade of events impacting my well-being and almost derailing my professional journey. While I was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, it took a while to get back on my feet in a culture where I would be considered guilty until proven innocent. Whether my accuser was consciously or unconsciously biased, I am doubtful if the circumstances would have unfolded similarly with any of my non-ethnic-minority colleagues. These situations are unfortunate and sometimes are influenced by workplace culture.  

Looking at the impact culture of how black scientists thrive, an analogy from agriculture comes to mind: a farmer can only expect a good crop if they plant their seeds on fertile land. Irrespective of how good the seeds might be, there is no chance of a good harvest if the soil is not fertile. My experiences show that far too many black scientists (like good seeds) are planted in unfertile land, which prevents a rich crop from being harvested. The ground (culture) is sometimes so thorny that any budding crop perishes before the harvest. It is critical to assess workplace culture for the best organisational results, given that the right talent can only thrive within the right culture.

We are responsible for looking at the ground where we are planting our seed to ensure we can reap the benefits of a good harvest.  

My engagement with black peers reveals a similar theme: a challenging landscape (culture) in which they are hired and then burdened to the point of losing their confidence. This highlights the need for the work on diversity to span beyond recruitment and look at organisational culture, ensuring the effort is not lost to unhelpful working environments (unfertile ground).

So, what now?

Regarding diversity and opportunities, the choice some black scientist face is stark. Accept a promotion, understanding that your daily experiences may be toxic and demoralising, or commit to smaller goals. I know which I would rather choose. 

But it’s hopeful to consider another alternative, which is taking an opportunity within an accepting culture where we can all thrive and bring our brilliant best selves to our working environments.

While hiring policies around diversity help, Departments seeking to employ talented black scientists sometimes fail to support them or burden them to the point where they lose their confidence. This highlights the need for diversity policies to go further in their support.  

In most organisations, we have several policies, such as having a diverse panel, Workforce Race Equality Standard data, and anti-racial presentations, which will lead to a higher diversification of the workforce which will create new processes to combat systemic racism. 

Whilst all these efforts are well appreciated, there is still a need to double the efforts in supporting already recruited black talent. Otherwise, new black additions to a diverse workforce will only see their role models being overworked and not valued, thereby making them commit to smaller goals for their own sanity and for their loved ones.

We can legislate targets but can’t legislate understanding, support or kindness. Our talented black scientists need to feel safe, foster high levels of well-being and not deal with harassment and discrimination.

I applaud the work of thought leaders and mentors as they look at various ways of increasing representation within the leadership structure. Our solutions fit our diverse workforce and patients only when thinking is genuinely diverse.

This calls for Pathology services to look at the cultures and structures wherein Black scientists are invited to work and reflect on whether they are offering a supportive environment to reap the benefits of their input.

We have the collective obligations and responsibilities to create a good working environment for these talents. This could start by asking, ‘What will make your role here better?’ and listening with curiosity and an intention to act.

The issues and challenges of black scientists within pathology cannot be fixed overnight. Overcoming challenges to get us to where we are today took a long time. Still, practical solutions don’t need to take as long.

I am incredibly grateful to those who have supported me on my journey. I am keen to offer a safe space for all my peers to build understanding and create psychologically safe and accepting cultures within our scientific community. 

I firmly believe that we can all make a difference. Walking in the shoes of a Black scientist may be challenging, but it doesn't need to be. It starts with us all: let’s create environments where we can all thrive regardless of a person’s race and ethnicity.

Read more Black History Month 2022 member reflections.