1. Educate yourself A lot of people reading this are busy with their jobs and other volunteering roles and might think they don’t have time to educate themselves on the movement. But the longer you take to catch up on it, the longer the biased system will be in place. Everybody should prioritise this in whatever way they can in their roles and their own lives. The resources provided by Girlguiding are a good place to start. Also, don’t assume that it’s the responsibility of Black people or people of colour to help you understand. It can be draining for Black people to keep having to explain the facts, which is why, as a white person, I wanted to take some responsibility and give some advice. Learn more here, specifically the section on enhancing your own knowledge. 2. Ask questions The benefit of Girlguiding being a membership organisation is that even if you’re not in a leadership role, you always have the opportunity to ask questions to your local commissioner, region office or HQ: what are we doing about increasing diversity and inclusion? How are we increasing the diversity of leaders? If you’re discussing new volunteer roles or growth in guiding, talk about how you could reach a more diverse membership. Look at how the roles are being advertised – if they contain only images of white people, what kind of message does that send? As a white person, I don’t want to speak for Black people and people of colour, but I do want to stand up in my all-white team and ask the difficult questions. To help, Girlguiding is carrying out a diversity and inclusion audit. We’re developing our network of inclusion advisors, so everyone should have someone to speak to for advice on these issues. 3. Talk to young members Introduce the topic of race to your unit in an age-appropriate way. It’s never too early to talk about it – studies have shown that by age five, children can show signs of racial bias, such as treating people more favourably than others based on the colour of their skin. These conversations might sometimes feel challenging and uncomfortable, but starting them early will get the girls thinking and help prepare them for working towards racial justice and equality. 4. Squash ‘whataboutism’ One of the big things going around on social media is ‘whataboutism’ – sure, Black lives matter, but what about all lives? This protest is going on, but what about people in other countries who have to deal with x, y or z? To give a guiding example, if we were fundraising for a division trip, we wouldn’t say it’s not worth fundraising for it because of all the other causes that need our attention. In guiding, we can call people out for whataboutism by emphasising that racism is a specific issue that deserves its own attention. 5. Set an example Be a leader and don’t let ‘minor instances’ slip by. If you overhear a girl in your unit say something racially insensitive, instead of glossing over it as you knew she wasn’t saying it deliberately or it hadn’t been said to you directly, choose to openly discuss why it wasn’t an appropriate choice of words. By doing this, it can be a learning moment for the whole unit. It’s not about targeting anyone; it’s necessary to have these open conversations to make sure everyone feels included by addressing topics such as microaggressions, racialised language and ignorance. Take Action, one of our six programme themes, helps girls build the skills to make a positive difference.