Race and political correctness in Britain

Munira Mirza:

Even the mildest incidents and jokes can be deemed offensive and inflate tensions in the office. Diversity training, it's claimed, actually reinforces the sense of difference between people rather than bringing them closer.

One fear is that ethnic minorities may become over-sensitised about the problem of racism, feeling they need to be constantly on guard.

One black female participant called Natasha, was told during a workshop that when shopkeepers do not put change into her hand, this is an example of blatant racism.

She resolved to say something in future. But it's far from clear that such a minor incident is a racist act, and in fact, research suggests it happens to lots of people, black and white.

Sceptics say the message of diversity training is that racism is in the eye of the beholder. Put simply: if you think an act is racist, then it automatically is.

The result is a heightened sense of grievance, even when it is not warranted.

Worse still, commentators suggest it could mean genuine cases of racial discrimination get swamped in a mire of less credible claims.

It is hard to judge what the effect of diversity training is likely to be in the UK. We may like to think that as a nation we are better at handling racial issues than Americans.

At the very least, we should consider the American lesson, say observers. If the spiralling millions of dollars spent in court on racial discrimination cases is anything to go by, the cumulative effect of diversity training could be more tension in the workplace, not less.

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