A time to reflect and make changes

Are the recent issues in the US the result of long-standing issues?

There has been little discussion on Police deaths due to attacks or the lack of ability to remove poor performing officers where necessary.  One area that could benefit from investigation is the underlying poverty that appears to affect so many.

 It would appear that there has been little change in prospects for Black Americans, vs Hispanic and other cultures in the US for some time.

The graph above ((Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (2017)) highlights the continued differences in earnings between Black and white Americans.  As can be seen although there have been a number of campaigns over many years, there are increasing differences in the pay rates.

Planet America (June 6 2020, ABC) recently discussed the broad trends over the last 40 years and showed that there had been little change for black Americans and that this was not the case for Hispanic and other American races which they indicated had improved significantly.

Why is the narrative for Black Americans so different to that of Asian, Hispanic and other races there, particularly Asians in the US?

In Australia, the issues are somewhat different, but the results similar in terms of salary disparity.

In Australia, the proportion of indigenous Australians on welfare dropped from around 65% in 2002 to around 52% by 2008 and has not moved significantly since then.  This reliance on welfare has also affected median incomes which are significantly less than other races in Australia.

Surviving on basic welfare for extended periods of time is likely to be demoralising.  This would appear to be a problem without simple solutions and will likely require a step change in approach to make significant differences in either country.

 The disparity of income in very remote areas could be a factor of comparison of those involved in mining and other resources vs those who are living in local communities and providing services there.

Many employers are taking stock post the Covid shutdown to reflect upon their organisations, perhaps it is an opportunity to take a fresh look at these issues and derive solutions for a sustainable improvement to their bottom line and the community.

The recent demonstrations around the world appear to recognise that the disparity against people of colour or other ethnic markers is no longer acceptable and we need to look to solutions rather than this as a problem.  How can we as businesses engage, employ and promote diversity in our organisations that can have a broader impact in the community.