This article was written by Tom Wein, founder of the Dignity Project, Dr. Neela Saldanha, an independent consultant, and Dr. Cait Lamberton, professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Government bureaucracies are rarely created with the full humanity of citizens in mind.
Typically, they invite individual citizens to steer themselves into labelled boxes, or else get them to jump through one-size-fits-all hoops. People with different stories, needs and wants end up waiting in line to submit easily sorted information about who they are, and more often than not are treated as numbers, rather than as people.
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Our team has studied and consulted governments, charities and businesses across North America, East Africa and South Asia. For the past few years, we have been examining the role of dignity in international development, business and government, as part of the Dignity Project.
We’ve found that bureaucratic systems used by governments around the world consistently fail to observe and affirm the inherent dignity of their citizens. From the Windrush scandal in the UK, to slum clearances in some of the world’s poorest countries, to meagre food vouchers in the US — countless recorded failures of governance can be traced back to people not being treated with the respect they deserve.
It shouldn’t be like this, nor need it be.
Great philosophers throughout the ages, such as [Immanuel Kant](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-human-dignity/kantian-perspectives-on-the-rational-basis-of-human-dignity/888A73505F167E52F149953CCFE74A20#:~:text=Immanuel%20Kant%20(1724%E2%80%931804%29,and%20extended%20in%20many%20ways.&text=Human%20dignity%20is%20based%20on,authority%20that%20everyone%20must%20respect.), tell us that dignity is an inalienable feature of humanity. Because we each have dignity, so each of us should without exception be treated with respect. Most governments signed up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights tend to agree with this in principle, even when their actions fall short of it. Through the Dignity Project, we are bringing new research to pin down how exactly to build a culture that recognises human dignity as the cornerstone of public service.
The urgency of dignity
In president Joe Biden’s inaugural address, he hailed “an American story of decency and dignity”. It’s a theme he frequently used on the campaign trail. It is also one that UN secretary general Guterres describes as “the core of his work”. Nobel prize-winning economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee recently wrote that: “Restoring human dignity to its central place...sets off a profound rethinking of economic priorities”.
From feminists in Kenya, to current and former presidents, people everywhere are sounding the alarm: human dignity needs urgent attention.
Winnie Byanyima, former head of Oxfam, put it like this at the World Economic Forum in 2019: “You’re counting the wrong things [if] you’re not counting the dignity of people."
The evidence for why is clear. Data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS), for example, shows that almost half of people whose relatives passed away in an English hospital between 2011 and 2015 felt that their loved ones were not always treated with respect by nurses and doctors. And in 13 of 34 African countries, another survey shows that more than half the population did not feel respected by public officials.
These perceptions alone cause harm. When we do not treat people with respect, this takes a gradual toll on their mental and physical health, making them less happy and less empowered, less cooperative, and more prone to conflict.
By contrast, when we affirm people’s dignity, good things are conversely shown to happen. Democracy functions better, and political tribalism diminishes. Place matters a great deal in dignity, so an agenda that places dignity at the center of public service allows us to address regional inequalities, both nationally and internationally.
There are, therefore, imperatives for us to do better that cut across public health, democratic participation and social justice.
How to build a culture of dignity in government
There are three simple things you can do to build a culture of dignity as public servants.
The first is to measure the experiences of those you seek to serve. This is about asking whether citizens or constituents feel they are treated respectfully. One way to measure your success in this area is by collecting data (as NHS England has done) to test improvements and make evidence-based trade-offs. We can only change what we can track, measuring one stage of progress to the next.
Winnie Byanyima, former head of Oxfam, put it like this at the World Economic Forum in 2019: “You’re counting the wrong things [if] you’re not counting the dignity of people.”
The second thing you can do is to consult your staff. In a study of US non-profits, our team found that when an organisation’s leaders talk often about dignity, its staff are five times more willing to commit to raising dignity as an area their organisation should improve on, with their colleagues.
By taking account of dignity, we address the essential thing that states struggle with: really seeing their citizens
Something for leaders to note: two groups in particular lead change in this area. The first is those who experience disrespectful treatment in their own lives, and who are 10 times more likely than others to say they would take a pay-cut to work for an organisation that promotes dignity.
The second is the “dissenters” — people who think that when it comes to dignity, their sector doesn’t practice what it preaches. This group is roughly eight times more likely to be willing to take such a pay-cut.
If these groups of people are willing to put their paychecks on the line, leaders should ensure that they are heard. Failure to do so could mean losing them altogether.
These practical, implementable suggestions — a survey question, a few staff workshops — are simple, uncostly ways to get started. Yet, the implications are radical.
By taking account of dignity, we address the essential thing that states struggle with: really seeing their citizens. In doing so, we can unlock a whole range of benefits to our societies, principally health, happiness and justice. Let’s get started. — Tom Wein, Dr. Neela Saldanha and Dr. Cait Lamberton
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