Anyone who hasn’t led a diverse team shouldn’t hold the position of CEO, according to an Asian woman who leads a corporation’s board of directors.
Ming Long, the chairperson of AMP Capital Funds Management and a Malaysian native, said on an ANZ podcast that she would not support someone running a business unless they could demonstrate that they had previously managed a multiethnic workforce.
“You could find yourself, ideally in an executive leadership role, at a company like ANZ, and you’ll start running across directors like me who will inquire about your experience leading diverse teams. Why would I ever appoint you CEO if you haven’t done that? she asked.
Ms. Long, who also serves as head of the Diversity Council of Australia, said that managing diversity was necessary for effectively leading a large company and that just opposing racism in the workplace was no longer sufficient.
Because of the size, complexity, and wide range of personalities present in organisations like ANZ, “you definitely don’t have the required talents to be able to manage an organisation like ANZ,” according to the statement.
White guy and ANZ head economist Richard Yetsenga, who she spoke with for the show, concurred.
I’m sure, he said, “100%.”
Using a phrase from American Critical Race Theory based on the notion that racism is systematic and rooted in society, Ms. Long also said that a manager needs to be an anti-racist as well as being against racism.
She said, “In Australia, not being racist is no longer sufficient.”
“We’ve tried to be non-racist, but what Australia really needs is to be anti-racist, and for people to speak out against racism and actively fight against it, because what we’ve discovered is that being non-racist is fairly passive,” said one researcher.
It just asks you to refrain from entering the fray and participating in the discussion; it doesn’t demand any guts on your side.
The S&P/ASX200-listed company’s first Asian woman CEO and diversity champion claimed it was more difficult for people of colour to advance in their jobs.
For so many racially marginalised individuals in Australia, it is the fact of existence, according to Ms. Long.
“It’s been difficult for them, and we have to take action,”
The law-educated accounting executive said that white stereotypes were often favoured in the workplace.
She said, “I would argue that in Australia, we live in a society where whiteness—being Western, Anglo-Celtic—is the status quo and it is.
“It’s accepted as normal, and I believe that this leads us to inadvertently believe that whiteness, the western way of thinking, or the Anglo-Celtic way of thinking are superior to other ethnic identities or practices.”
Race, according to Ms. Long, has an impact on job advancements.
Yes, she said, “we have all been racist in our decision-making, whether consciously or subconsciously.”
Though she suggested that variety of demography was more significant than diversity of ideas, she nonetheless warned against the notion that someone automatically earned a promotion because they were from a minority group.
No matter how diverse you are, she said, diversity isn’t possible if your principles conflict with those of the organisation.
Is putting a climate sceptic on the board promoting diversity?
I’ve seen some individuals believe that just because they’re diverse, and they’re different, that they’re entitled to be promoted, but that’s never been the case. Being a varied person does not automatically entitle you to leadership roles.