Bring Back the Soul Cap
I don’t often blog on issues of social justice, but all too often issues of social justice cross lines into issues of ethics and compliance, and in this case specifically create unnecessary barriers to a discrimination-free environment and instead institutionalize discriminatory practices.
You may have seen recently that swim caps that are made to be used by swimmers of specific ethnicities have been banned in the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer. Specifically, Soul Caps, as they are known commercially, are uniquely designed not to give a competitive advantage, but for swimmers with thick, curly hair.
There are multiple issues with this. First, the most obvious, banning an item that does not offer a competitive advantage and whose use is confined to a specific demographic is discriminatory. There’s not a lot of gray on this one, and the icing on it was the specific language used in the ban that the cap “does not follow the natural form of the head.” I’ll be surprised if FINA, the International Swimming Federation, doesn’t walk this back – as they should.
The blatant discrimination exposed in their initial decision to ban the cap is bad enough. But in this case, there is a “greater good” issue in play as well. Swimming is the only Olympic event that encourages and teaches life-saving techniques – SWIMMING – that prevent drowning. How is that relevant? Simple, numbers don’t lie.
In the UK, for example, 95% of black adults and 80% of black children don’t swim. In fact, surveys in the UK have shown that 72% of swimmers are white and only 3% black in children under 16. It’s commonly understood that seeing yourself in a sport and a feeling of inclusiveness is proportional to role models in the sport – seeing someone like you.
Being dismissive of black swimmers discourages black youth from being involved and learning to swim. Worse, it fosters those affected to fall prey to errant stereotypes. From my view, discriminatory acts are always wrong, and doubly wrong when they are directly contrary to the greater good. FINA got this wrong, and the impact of their error goes beyond limiting athletes from participating in Tokyo this summer.
The ETHIX360 blog brings you weekly updates on all things human resources and compliance.
MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
ABOUT ETHIX360
At ETHIX360, our goal is simple: to provide an affordable, flexible, and comprehensive answer to employee communication, policy management, corporate training and case management on issues related to corporate ethics, code of conduct, fraud, bribery, and workplace violence.
