British bosses need to “shape up and take action” against workplace racism

“SOUL destroying racial discrimination is rife in the workplace,” campaigners have warned, after the Trade Union Congress revealed research showing two-fifths of black and minority ethnic workers (BME) having faced racism at work. 

The vast majority did not tell their employer, which the TUC said was largely because of fears of not being taken seriously or concerns about how it will affect working relationships with colleagues. 

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady told the Morning Star newspaper: “This report lifts the lid on racism in UK workplaces. It shines a light on the enormous scale of structural and institutional discrimination BME workers face.” 

“It’s disgraceful that in 2022 racism still determines who gets hired, trained, promoted — and who gets demoted and dismissed.” Black Activists Rising Against Cuts co-founder Zita Holbourne told the Morning Star that bosses need to “shape up and take action” against workplace racism. 

To get an educated insight into workplace and structural racism, people need to re-examine the history of Abercrombie & Fitch, which today is awash with Gen-Z-friendly nods to diversity and inclusion. 

As CNN reported, "there are people of color, sizes up to 3XL and even a Pride-themed collection featuring “gender inclusive” rainbow tees. The brand’s Instagram account, meanwhile, proudly promotes models in wheelchairs, stories of body-positivity and statements of LGBTQ solidarity. 

Yet, barely disguised in the label’s new tagline, “This is #AbercrombieToday,” is an admission that there is a yesterday it would rather we forget. Any chance of that has been dashed by Netflix’s documentary “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch,” which charts Abercrombie’s transformation from forgotten 19th-century outdoors retailer to the epitome of late-‘90s teen fashion. 

Through interviews with former models, recruiters, store workers and executives, the 88-minute film suggests that appearing cool, attractive and White wasn’t just an exercise in branding: it was an active corporate strategy that came at the expense of non-White employees and consumers." 

To quote former CEO Mike Jeffries, who oversaw the brand’s rise in the late 90s and 2000s, in a now infamous interview from 2006: “We go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.” 

Hussein Al-alak is the editor of Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra). You can follow @husseinalalak on Twitter.