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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.
I'm pregnant
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- Latino/a or Hispanic
- Health Care
- Left & is now Self-Employed
- Health Care
- Assumptions
- Medical Leave
- Personal Response
- Pregnancy
- Stereotyping
- Tip
- Worklife Balance
Within six months of my new job, I found out I was pregnant. I told my boss, "I'm so happy. I'm pregnant." My boss quit talking to me for a week. It was very strange because we were so close. So I pulled him aside and asked, "What's wrong here? Why aren't you talking to me?" He said, "Well, you know, you were my walk-on-water. I have even given you special training. Now you are going to leave." I said, "I'm not leaving. I'm giving you eight months notice. We can plan for this. I will come back." He said, "No you won't." I asked, "Hold on. What's your paradigm?" He told me his first wife got pregnant and quit work. His second wife just won't have kids because all she did was work. I said, "How about a new paradigm: I work and I have my baby and then I come back to work. I've given you eight months notice. We can plan my projects. If I was Joe Shmoe and broke my leg skiing, I'd call in and say that I couldn't come in for three weeks. But this is something we can plan for." He still didn't get it. So I said, "Look, somebody had to quit work long enough to have you and every other man who works in this company." He just looked at me and finally he got it.