Barbara Burford Memorial Lecture Wendy Irwin Equalities Lead Royal College of Nursing

Celebrating a century of nursing leadership

Legacy Barbara Burford

What is your response to workplace discrimination? Fear Anger Hurt Anxiety Fight Acceptance Disbelief Bewilderment Silence Violence Numbness Mute Betrayed Boredom Irritation Powerless Empowered

Changing the conversation AvoidanceConstructive dialogue FearfulSafe ProblemOutcome AspirationDemonstrable competence

Aggression and Inequality: In miniature Micro aggressions and inequalities are in essence small events which are often transitory and hard-to- prove, events which are covert, often unintentional, frequently unrecognised by the individuals in questions.

When thinking about your leadership team and senior management colleagues do they actively demonstrate that they understand the link between inclusion and improvements in patient care? What evidence are you relying on to make this judgement? When thinking about those that you work most closely with, do they actively demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of your workplace culture’s often hidden and implicit rules and ways of working? Do they understand or are they aware of the possible attitudes, biases and behaviours that they may reinforce and generate? What do you hear, see or notice when you think about this? When thinking about those that you work most closely with, do they actively ask for or show curiosity about patterns of bias or privilege in organisational processes such as recruitment and selection, performance management and promotion?

What might this mean for us? Think About what works well in extending confidence and competence in understanding, identifying and responding to discrimination in the workplace Say Create an open dialogue about the nature of bias and discrimination in the workplace from its obvious and overt forms to its covert, subtle and seemingly unconscious forms DO Set goals, create accountability, speak truth to power, challenge, inspire, encourage, motivate, communicate, research, empower, take calculated risks, build incrementally, role model, engage, deliver, produce and act

Problem-frame What sort of questions do we ask when we are thinking of an issue as a problem? u What’s the problem? u Why is it such a problem? u What are the implications of not solving it? u Why haven’t you solved it yet? u Who’s to blame for the problem? u Why are they to blame?

Outcome-frame u What do you want? (asked with curiosity) u How will you know when you’ve got what you want? u What will be the best thing about getting what you want? u What other benefits will it bring? u What resources do you already have to help you achieve your desired outcome(s)? u What is your next step?

CAN DO Connect and communicate Activate empathy, build accountability Neutralise difficulty, distrust, discomfort and distress Develop leadership Own the actions, opportunities and the results