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Vote on Desiree Davidson's Story
Were they afraid we were planning a coup d'etat?
I spent my first summer during Columbia Law School at a firm in Philadelphia described as one of the best places in the city for black lawyers. I believed that if there was any place where I would have an equal chance at opportunities, be treated fairly and succeed, this would be it. There were three black female summer associates out of sixty that year but any time all three of us were in an office talking, one of the partners would knock on the door to see how we were doing. It happened too often to be a coincidence that sometimes we would purposely agree to meet in so-and-so's office to test our theory that we were being monitored. Like clock work, ten minutes after we would get together a partner would stop by.
James Richardson's Experiences
I needed a mentor or someone who I knew was backing me. I never felt like I had someone to back me.
An executive once told me, "We'll groom you but you might have issues."
It was all about unwritten rules. I didn't know the rules. I felt like a fish out of water. I always felt as though they would have loved me if I could have overcome the stigma.
I was given a lot of responsibility but I was never given an analyst to work under me.
I would leave in the morning before my kids were up and come home past 8 or 9, after they were fast asleep.