Guess what? It’s not surprising that a label meant to be inclusive and helpful has become divisive. In a time where the values and aims behind EDI are being criticized, is it really necessary to have a discussion about whether a term that is meant to bring people together actually does so?
But it’s also important to note that, if you look closely at the words and their meaning, ‘Global Majority,’ doesn’t have global support. It is important to recognize that the goal is good and this should be acknowledged, even if it does not make sense.
Inclusive Companies conducted a poll in our network to find out what people thought about the term “global majority”. Here are the results.
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33% of respondents said that it is misleading and should not be used
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29% of respondents said that it is accurate and empower
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27% of respondents said that it was an interesting concept, but did not fit the situation
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Only 11% of people are familiar with the term
The results are mixed, and there is a fairly even split in opinion among those who know the term. This means that it’s a topic worth discussing. Some people find it useful, but others don’t. It may be positive in some contexts but negative in others.
Losing identity
It is true of many labels that attempt to group components with differences, but who share a collective identity. To create a homogeneous group, differences are eliminated in an effort to bring people together. Sometimes, a homogenous group is exactly what’s needed to bring attention to a certain point.
There are other instances when using the term ‘global majority’ can lead to a loss of identity. Before we throw it out, let’s look at why it was created in the first instance.
Global Majority: its meaning and history
“Global Majority” is the term used for all ethnic groups other than white British and white groups including white minorities. This term includes black, Asian, mixed, and other ethnicities who are often racialised under the title ‘ethnic minority’. It is also being used to replace the terms persons of color/ethnic minority/Black, Asian, and Minority (BAME), or ‘visible minority’ in Canada.
Let’s dig deeper. The term clearly shows a difference between white people and all other races. Why? In the UK, the white majority is the largest group. Also, they are the majority of CEOs and senior executives within organizations. While many organizations are making great strides in making their businesses more diverse and inclusive, we still have a long way to travel before we reach true equity.
White people are more dominant and therefore have a greater influence on decisions. Using terms like’majority,”minority,’ or ‘lesser’ communicates that the former is more powerful and dominant and the latter suggests a lesser worth and importance. It is not helpful because the terms are used to describe the number of people but also have negative connotations.
The term “Global Majority” is used to help people understand that while those non-whites in the UK may be in a small minority, they make up approximately 85% percent of the world’s population. The world is small and many UK organizations are global players.
Maybe the term “global majority” can be viewed as a form of education that makes us all realize something? By using the term’majority,’ you are not helping the situation at all by trying to address the negative connotations that set words have in certain fields.
It’s time to move on
This statement about global makeup is only meant to include all non-white ethnicities. But how helpful is this? It was a different time.
EDI aims to recognise the person and their birth, heritage and other factors that will influence them. These include gender, age and faith. Simply saying someone is part of a “Global Majority” does not look at their individuality, talents or potential. It does the exact opposite. It is important to listen carefully to the group when the individual belongs to one or several protected characteristic groups.
Celebrate differences, but not their labels
Labels like Global Majority are useful, but only for the broadest generalisations. It might be useful to remind society and people how many people there are in the world. In today’s world, this should be a thing of the past. When a large number of people from different ethnicities are grouped together, it is difficult to distinguish between communities, personalities and individuals. It is important to celebrate and acknowledge our many differences. Not denigrated.
Moreover, we need to unite our differences so that we can live and work together in harmony and with constructiveness. We will be far, far more powerful as a collective once we realize that we can work and live together harmoniously and constructively despite our differences. We will have achieved a global majority once we reach this stage.
