Race Equality Week
Race equality week takes place 6-10 February and is an annual campaign uniting organisations and individuals to address the barriers to race equality in the workplace.
In November 2022 we launched our anti-racism strategy, helping members to tackle racism in the workforce and focus on reducing health inequalities.
As part of our ongoing work in this area, our BME Leadership Network is hosting a half-day conference Courage in the face of discomfort: Anti-racist leadership is the day job – let’s own it.
The conference takes place in London on 19 April for NHS board members and BME Leadership Network members. It will provide a safe space to initiate a meaningful conversation, share experiences and shine a light on how anti-racist leaders can positively change organisations, services and processes.
Join our BME Leadership Network
Membership of the network is open to all NHS leaders from BME backgrounds. We also encourage non-BME NHS leaders to become supporters of this network, including board members. Watch our short video about the network and join.
Useful resources
- No shortcuts to tackling racism blog - Joan Saddler outlines how the NHS Confederation is helping members to tackle racism and reduce health inequalities through its anti-racism strategy.
- Combatting racial discrimination against ethnic minority nurses and midwives - A resource aimed at all nursing and midwifery professionals registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council working in the NHS. The practical examples and tools help staff to discuss, explore and challenge racism safely and effectively, including at the time a challenging situation occurs. The resource also outlines the expected behaviours from NHS employers and leaders.
- Supporting healthcare organisations to eliminate racism - Health on the Line podcast - Joan Saddler OBE, Matthew Taylor and Lena Samuels discuss the role health organisations, systems and leaders can play in eliminating racism.
- Shattered hopes: black and minority ethnic leaders’ experiences of breaking the glass ceiling in the NHS - This report provides reflections on the lived experience of senior black and minority ethnic leaders in the NHS.
- Addressing shattered hopes - Rob Webster and Fatima Khan-Shah share their aspirations for addressing race inequality in the NHS, and the steps that are being taken in the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership.
- It's not enough to be non-racist - Wayne Farah provides reflections on a BME Leadership Network lecture that offered new and powerful insights into building an anti-racist NHS.
- The NHS Race & Health Observatory (RHO) - The RHO works to identify and tackle ethnic inequalities in health and care by facilitating research, making health policy recommendations and enabling long-term transformational change. Visit their website to access a suite of publications, resources and useful links. The RHO is supported by NHS England and hosted by the NHS Confederation.
