Racial justice now a core business issue

If the business world feels different, it should.

If the conversations in board rooms and conference rooms are uncomfortable and honest, if they involve the stories and the perspectives of all employees, they should.

That, Carla Walker-Miller said, is the sign that change is happening.

"The last 5 months of our lives have really been disorienting," she said during a keynote presentation that was part of the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminars. "As an American, as a Black woman, as a mother, as a human, as a Detroiter—I, like so many Americans, I am feeling emotionally raw, disquieted and unsettled right now."

That's because America shifted this summer. The death of George Floyd was a flashpoint for the country and for many of its citizens, millions of whom took to the streets to protest. They shouted and chanted together, marched, carried homemade signs and held their fists in the air—all to deliver a single, unified message: Black lives matter.

This time, corporate America heard.

Dozens of companies and organizations released statements acknowledging that their businesses and society had fallen short when it comes to race. Many vowed to do better and start conversations to find out how.

"This, right now, is what disruption feels like to those who are being disrupted. Because today—in every home, in every business, in every playground—we are experiencing transformational change. Our collective reality has changed in the space of a few short months and we have never seen anything like it," Walker-Miller said.

"We are being called upon—we are being challenged—to look at our own organizations, our own boards, our own C Suites (and) departments, our own actions and our choices and say, 'yes this is normal, this is how it has been, but is this right? Is this fair? Is this equitable? Is this just?' And the biggest change—the tectonic shift—is the recognition … that this racial justice conversation is a business conversation."

Walker-Miller is the founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services L.L.C., a Detroit-based company that performs home energy assessments to identify energy saving opportunities. The business, founded in 2000, represents a landmark on an unexpected professional journey.

"I am not an entrepreneur by choice," Walker-Miller said. "My goal was always to have a corporate career. And as I entered my corporate career as a degreed engineer in the body of a Black woman decades ago, I didn't have the context to realize that there were additional unwritten responsibilities that were required in order for me to be successful. And those responsibilities should have been written because they still exit today.

"Because no matter how hard I worked, I didn't have the context to understand that part of my success depended upon the strategic imperative that I behave as if I was OK. That I behave as if I was treated fairly every day, and that I learn to push through as if daily injustices of being an engineer in a technical environment did not exist.

"From unconscious and unintended bias to plain old sexism and racism, part of my job was to pretend that those things were not real," she said. "So upon hire, unknowingly, I became subject to an unspoken deal with corporate America. That deal was that I would pretend that I have the same opportunity—the same compensation, the same opportunity for retention, reward and advancement—as every white, male engineer."

That, she added, was not the case. She remembers the day that a well-meaning HR representative slid under her office door a copy of the compensation tables that showed she made significantly less than her equally qualified white, male colleagues.

She went to her supervisors and a correction was made to her salary, but it stung knowing that she had to fight for the compensation that she deserved and, for so long, had been entitled to.

Today, at the helm of her own company, she draws on those experiences. She works to be sure that her employees are treated fairly, compensated fairly and are given every opportunity possible to thrive.

• There are always ways to improve on these goals, she said. That is why in 2018 Walker-Miller Energy made some strategic and bold business decisions. Among them, the company:
• Instituted a $15 an hour minimum wage;
• Began recruiting only team members who embrace the company's culture of kindness; and
• Incorporated second-chance policies that give those with criminal records fair opportunities for employment.

Offering opportunities to those who have been incarcerated and convicted of felony crimes forced Walker-Miller out of her comfort zone. But that was exactly the place she needed to be. It was where her company needed to go if it was going to make a difference in the community, stand up for the principles she believed were worth fighting for and serving as a leader for others.

"The complications of the criminal justice system and the over-policing of Black and brown people is just so clear," Walker-Miller said of the decision. "Our philosophy is, if I interview you, and on that first interview I am not interested in you based on the interview, whether you have been incarcerated or not is none of my business. Because I am not interested in you. So why do you have to disclose first off? Why do you have to feed into a bias I may already have by saying, 'Oh, by the way, I have been incarcerated.'

"(At Walker-Miller Energy) you have an opportunity to tell your story: 'Yes, I have a conviction, this is what happened.' And then I have an opportunity to choose you. And that is all that we are asking, that people who have served their sentences have opportunity."

Breaking down bias

Walker-Miller knows that opportunity is just the start. For Black employees, regardless of the positions they hold, they are battling bias and racism every single day. They are routinely—and often implicitly—asked to buck stereotypes and disprove others' bias. That often means working harder than others, pretending as though injustices don't exist, or maintaining grace and poise in the face of offensive statements or actions.

To explain, Walker-Miller recounted business gatherings and conferences where she—dressed as professionally as her colleagues and conducting herself with the same professionalism—has been asked to "refill a drink, correct a food order or give directions because I was a Black face in a very, very white environment."

When and how she reacted in those situations—and others throughout her career—mattered. No matter how mundane the circumstance may seem, her actions and words spoke for others, not just herself. As unfair as it is, she said, her actions and words spoke for other women and other Black professionals.

So deciding when to speak up and stand your ground in the face of injustice becomes a weighty decision.

Black women "don't make that choice in a vacuum," she said. "We make that choice based on who we are speaking with. What environment, what room are we in? What is the context? What happened right before and what do we expect is going to happen if we fight?

"How is it not just going to affect me, but how is it going to affect the women—and particularly the Black women—who come after me? Do we want to choose this fight, and will it make the people in power decide that Black women are just too difficult to deal with? So, I just make the best decision I can."

There have been plenty of moments throughout her professional career when Walker-Miller has had to weigh her options and decide if should speak out or speak up. The first, she recalled, came before she ever began her first job.

As a young professional making her way into corporate America, she was beginning a career with a new company. And, like all of the new team members, she was to spend three months in Georgia getting to know her new role and her new company. The business even had recommended accommodations for her at the Confederate Inn in Athens, Ga.

"I had to say, 'I cannot stay at the Confederate Inn,' " Walker-Miller said. "And so, before I even started my first day of work, I had to make a decision that simple: What do you fight and what do you accept?"

These stories add to the reasons why businesses need to confront issues of race within their organizations. It's why this summer's protests matter to them.

Amplifying Black voices

In this moment in history—where businesses and individuals are being challenged to evaluate themselves and then do and be better—the steps taken by businesses will define their futures.

One thing you can bet on, though, Walker-Miller said, is that the road ahead will not be easy. The conversations will be uncomfortable and emotionally taxing. There are no easy answers or solutions, only steady, honest progress forward. Because the circumstances and the history that brought America to this moment are complex and heart-breaking.

That history, she said, should not be rewritten. Instead, it should be accessible and whole. It is our responsibility to ensure that the stories we share and tell are truthful and genuine so we can "get to a place of understanding and healing."

"After slavery, Black people moved from being an asset to being a problem to be dealt with," Walker-Miller said. "And, in many ways we have been treated as such since. It wasn't addressed then because it was difficult. And racism is even more difficult or as difficult and complicated right now."

That is why Black voices are so critical, she said. And it's why every single person in the company—from the intern to the chairman of the board—should be involved in and, more importantly, listening to conversations.

In the past, discussions around race and gender equality were "relegated" to human resource departments and diversity experts. But that can no longer be the case, Walker-Miller said. The problems that have been laid bare in the last few months are closely connected to every aspect of our lives and every aspect of business.

Every leader in the company needs to be involved in these discussions, she said, because they are "real and relevant to us as humans and they must be had."

It's also why the voices in the room, especially those of Black men and women, should not be limited to those working within the company.

"I urge those leaders to invite Black voices into the room where decisions are made," Walker-Miller said. "Business decisions often disproportionately affect, not just those businesses, but the cities and the surrounding communities."

This is another reason why the work force at all companies should reflect the whole of the country and the business' customer base. If a company cannot honestly say that its work force is reflective of its customers or the country, then there is much work to be done.

"The key is diversity of thought in the form of talented team members who reflect the customer base, and the automotive customer base, obviously, includes every single person who purchased, rents, drives or rides in a vehicle," Walker-Miller said.

"Efforts to recruit Black people and women fall short not just because there is a pipeline problem, which is recognized, but because there is no existing critical mass. That means there are few on-ramps for Black people and women of color.

"Diversity should be integrated into every single policy," Walker-Miller said. "… Until there is full equity in your organization, until there is no longer a need for a diversity and inclusion department, then you have a lot of work to do."