EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY FEATURE
Putting together an episode titled L.O.V.E – Let’s talk about race
#BlackLivesMatter (@ot_chill 2020) to explore BAME occupational
therapists’ experiences within the profession in general felt to me like
a positive platform to assist in achieving this (https://open.spotify.
com/episode/4sPh0qghwAiozaXLSM0re2).
As a consequence of this episode, there was an explosion and
outpouring of feelings. It was emotional and humbling to hear so
many voices. There was also a desire to connect and discuss the
pain BAME students, occupational therapists and educators were
experiencing, as well as a need to share their experiences of the past
and present.
Again, I felt humbled and privileged that they were willing to share,
as they are mostly strangers to me and each other.
Prior to this episode RCOT had not released a statement in
support of its BAME occupational therapist colleagues, and I felt
a responsibility to start up a vital conversation with fellow BAME
occupational therapists, educators and students, who wanted to
share their experiences and were in need of support.
Our first BAME OT network gathering saw 58 people come
together, and some clear themes emerged from the conversations:
BAME students, occupational therapists and educators
want their colleagues to notice the pain
this situation is causing them and their
communities; it is okay for colleagues
to talk to them about BLM and not feel
threatened by having the conversation. It
is okay to feel uncomfortable, because it is.
The people who took part felt hurt,
perceiving that the Royal College did not
care about BLM and did not care about
their BAME membership. They felt that the
statement from RCOT in support of BLM was
not timely, and once it came out, the statement
raised more questions about RCOT’s commitment
to BAME members and the BAME population served
by occupational therapists.
They felt that the university experience can sometimes
exacerbate segregation, especially in the classroom. Reasons given
were feelings of being ‘othered’, feelings that their majority white
peers did not give them space or time to be included, so they decide
to be invisible in the class, and feelings that the university did not
have the infrastructure to change this dynamic.
They also felt that universities sometimes appear not to be geared
up to support the BAME students regarding academic skills and
during clinical placement
People said that in their workplaces they experience daily
micro-aggressions and unconscious bias, for example constantly
commenting on hair style or make up, touching hair, and
misrepresenting passion or enthusiasm as anger – many have been
referred to as coming across as ‘an angry Black woman’.
Some students said they have had similar experiences on
placement, with university staff feeling unable to deal with the issue
because of lack of clear procedures in place. This is mirrored in a
study of experiences of BAME physiotherapy students (Hammond et
al 2019).
Finally, participants said that they see a lack of representation
from grade seven upwards, in leadership roles and not enough
training or opportunity for mentoring.
This was highlighted in the 2017 MacGregor-Smith review ‘Race
in the workplace’. A one-year follow up review in 2018 found that
‘over half of BAME employees feeling like they need to leave their
jobs in order to progress is unacceptable and we must ensure
society and business retains this rich source of skills and talent’.
Structural racism is real.
profession
strives to advocate for
occupational and social justice
for the people we work with;
principles of diversity and
equality are at the core
‘‘Our
of our profession.
Overall, the thoughts and feelings of Black, Asian and other
ethnicity occupational therapists are powerful. These should be
heard and action taken in order for us to feel lasting change. If we
are a profession that believes in advocating and empowering those
we work with, we cannot continue to stand by and watch
colleagues feel the way they do.
References
Hammond JA, Williams A, Walker S (2019)
Working hard to belong: a qualitative study
exploring students from black, Asian and
minority ethnic backgrounds experiences
of pre-registration physiotherapy
education, BMC Medical Education, 19:
019-1821-6
Kerr S (2018) Scorecard report. Race at work:
MacGregor-Smith Review one year on.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
strategy: England. Available at: https://assets.publishing.
service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/
file/746970/BITC_Race_At_Work_Report.pdf
MacGregor-Smith R (2017) The time for talking is over. Now is the time to
act: Race in the workplace, Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial strategy: England. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/
372. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-
government/publications/race-in-the-workplace-the-mcgregor-smithreview
Kwaku Agyemang, occupational therapist, Prison Services, and
Musharrat J Ahmed-Landeryou, occupational therapy lecturer,
London South Bank University, email: [email protected] or
[email protected]
OTnews July 2020 17