#1. Four ways you can tackle racial discrimination in your workplace

This year has proven to be a historic year. First, COVID-19 has transformed our lives and economies. And then, more recently, following the tragic death of George Floyd, many have begun to ask how organizations can do more to tackle discrimination and to promote equality. This Forbes article outlines four ways in which companies can address racial discrimination in the workplace:

• The first thing is to keep the conversation going. It is to acknowledge the injustices and to express your commitment to doing better.




• This has to be followed by embedding anti-racism into the organization’s values, training, and action. This will inevitably lead to building a stronger, healthier, and better workplace for all.




• Employers can also spread awareness by providing resources to educate individuals about the culture of racism. Most individuals are unaware of racial injustice.




• Linked to this, businesses should cultivate diversity and tackle unconscious bias. For instance, the hiring process is just one of the many ways employers can combat racial discrimination.

To learn more about how to build a more inclusive, diverse, and equal workforce, read this recent study here.

#2. Diversity and inclusion: how has the workplace changed for LGBTQ+ employees?

June is Pride Month, a month to celebrate LGBTQ+ people and to commemorate the Stonewall Riots in 1969, which became a rallying cry for the community. Writing for the HR Zone, Stephen Frost looks at how inclusion has changed in the workplace in the past 20 years – and what more still needs to be done. One of the changes has to do with making sure that acceptance is expanded to all kinds of sexual orientation and identity, including race. One other meaningful change that we have seen over the years is the shift of framing around being LGBTQ+. This has prompted many leaders to come forth and become role models for others. The active participation and support of corporations have also evolved over time, with companies doing more to recognise their LGBTQ+ employees. Furthermore, and while there is still more to do, the recruitment landscape has changed from being ignorant of the community to facilitating LGBTQ+ careers.

#3. Amazon and BBC are funding post-COVID reskilling of small business workers

The post-COVID economy will require a major investment in skills development of many workers whose jobs will either be transformed or will cease to exist. Former UK prime minister Tony Blair warns that industries such as tourism and traditional retail will have to adapt and workers will need to re-equip. Big corporations such as Amazon and BBC waste no time and in London, they have decided to throw their weight behind a new fund aimed at helping local small businesses retrain their staff. The Reskilling for the Recovery Fund will award apprenticeship funding to London’s SMEs for new and existing staff. So far, the fund has raised £500,000.

#4. European Businesses will need e-commerce sites to beat recession

Coronavirus has economically squeezed the traditional brick-and-mortar retail industry and because of that, many companies have decided to move their businesses online. COVID-19 has accelerated e-commerce across many parts of the world, and in Europe where only 17% of small and medium-sized businesses sell on the internet, online purchases have risen sharply. In Spain alone, e-commerce now accounts for 22% of total sales (up from 15% from before COVID-19). Bloomberg Businessweek argues that European businesses will need e-commerce sites to beat the upcoming recession because companies with a digital presence will have a distinct advantage in the post-COVID economy which will be dominated by physical distancing.

#5. OECD predicts slow recovery as EU’s GDP falls by 3.2%

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned that while most developed countries will see a rapid initial bounce-back from the recession, this recovery might fall short of bringing living standards back to their pre-pandemic level. Furthermore, the organization claims that the path to the full economic recovery remains highly uncertain mostly because the threat of a second wave of infections looms large. The EU, in the meantime, has released GDP figures for the first quarter of this year showing a sharp fall in the economic output. The EU’s GDP was down by 3.2% and employment by 0.1% compared to last year.