A white person in SA writing about racism is like a criminal talking to the victim about integrity. As a white South African, born during the apartheid years, I question my right to even discuss the matter. I also struggle with the guilt of not having done more to challenge the status quo during the apartheid years, and worry if I will ever earn credibility in the eyes of black people.
As businesses, how can we effectively operate in this environment? How do we sell our products, promote our brands, support our employees and serve our customers? Capitalism can be an amazing tool to uplift communities and promote economic freedom, but it can also be used to enrich the few at the expense of the many. Rugged individualism has widened the gap between the wealthy and the largely unemployed masses.
As business leaders, we have a moral and financial obligation to uplift our people and our economy and it starts with unlearning racial prejudice and unconscious bias. What I am proposing is not easy, but it is an economic imperative. People before profits: We can no longer focus on the narrow capitalist objectives of shareholder returns above all else. As long as we treat people like cost burdens, our businesses will remain devoid of a sense of belonging, motivation and commitment. The future of business must have a significantly more humane face.