Shining a Light on EMEA’s Black Legacy: Celebrating Black History Month
Black History Month provides us opportunities to reflect on key moments in history and in today’s society. Originating in the US in the 70s, this month reminds us of the history of the African diaspora and recognizes the important people and events that brought us to where we are today. It has since been recognised, from the 80s onwards, in other countries like the UK, Ireland and Germany. Many countries in Europe still do not celebrate Black History Month, but at Workday we include all EMEA regions.
One of the main differences between the US and EMEA celebrations are the months in which each region celebrates. In the US and Germany, Black History Month is in February while in the UK and Ireland it’s in October. The Netherlands also celebrates Black History in October, in the form of Black Achievement Month. Our global Black@Workday Employee Belonging Council (EBC) members come together to celebrate in both February and October, where we celebrate around the world two times over. The other difference is that we create themes for each respective region’s history month.
Amplify — Larger, Greater, Stronger Together
When we started Black@Workday in EMEA just over three years ago, it was around the time of the George Floyd murder. While Floyd’s murder is a US tragedy, it ignited a global movement that transcended borders and inspired global unity in addressing racism and social injustices as worldwide issues. We focused our first couple of Black History Months following on educating Workmates on local challenges and how to stay unified in times of hardship. Last year, we chose the theme of celebration and this year we are amplifying this theme by recognising Black achievements, sharing our culture and highlighting that we are all larger, greater and stronger together.
Here’s a look at the weeks ahead and their accompanied themes.
Week One — Culture Week
We kicked off the month with Black History tours in London, Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam.
Week Two — Innovation Week
During this week we celebrated Black innovators and their contributions to society.
Week Three — Inspiration Week
Shenin Lebrun, our guest speaker, spoke about her career rise at NIKE and inspired us all with her journey from Merchandising Assistant to Director. In some offices across Europe we celebrated Culture and Food day, where Workmates will savor traditional dishes and explore culinary delights.
Week Four — Giving Week
Our final week was focused on a wellness session with our guest speaker, Jules Varnham, who is a cognitive behavioral therapist.
Though we are excited about all the events we have planned, there are a couple of highly-anticipated events that we’ve never done!
- Giving & Doing Initiative
To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Windrush Generation’s Arrival in the UK, we launched an initiative for the Walworth Golden Oldies, a club founded by SS Windrush generation members who emigrated from the Caribbean to the UK. Workmates who donate will receive a digital cookbook titled “From our Culture with Love” written by Workmates across EMEA.
2. An Exhibition Tour
The Paris office paid tribute to selected Black French personalities in French History.
As you can see, there was a lot going on and it’s been an amazing month of celebration! These celebrations are just some of the many ways we amplify how we value inclusion, belonging, and equity for all.
Valuing Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity for All
Value inclusion, belonging, and equity, (VIBE) comes to life in many different ways across the globe. We have global initiatives organised by the Belonging and Diversity team, Employee Belonging Councils, VIBE Councils, local programmes organised by each office. And our Workmate community brings it all together.
From a societal perspective, the progress on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives vary per region. There are different challenges culturally, legally, regionally, politically and more that have to be taken into account. This all has an impact on diversity and equity measurement through data, readiness to embrace diversity and the actions taken to make a change. Together, we can make days a little brighter for everyone.
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