The London Museum has launched a diversity initiative urging employees to address the problem of "whiteness" and challenge "hierarchical working" as part of a broader inclusion strategy.
Staff at the publicly-funded institution have been issued a pamphlet described as a "tool for culture change", designed to help them "challenge embedded whiteness" in the workplace.
The museum defines "whiteness" as "ideas, ways of working and normative values that can support, directly or indirectly, the continuation of racial inequalities and a lack or racial diversity in institutions".
According to the guidance, the museum's current "culture and ways of working" support "institutional forms of racism" and require transformation to achieve its goal of becoming "genuinely anti-racist".
The document prompts staff with a series of questions including whether they can "promote less hierarchical working" and if they "encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work", according to The Telegraph.
Other questions ask: "How am I contributing to advancing race equity in my daily work?" and "Am I making space and time for important conversations about race equity? How are we continuing to challenge embedded whiteness?"
The term "whiteness" is used in critical race theory to describe values associated with white society that are considered the default norm, potentially excluding other cultural perspectives.
This initiative was first developed in 2023 following the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, which led to the local authority removing a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan from outside its Docklands site.
The London Museum, formerly known as the Museum of London until its 2024 rebranding, has been under the directorship of Sharon Ament since 2012 and is preparing to relocate its main site from the City to Smithfield Market.
