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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 was exotic
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- African-American
- Banking - Retail
- Left & is now Self-Employed
- Arts/Entertainment/Media
- Bad Boss
- Coworker
- Family
- Stereotyping
- Unwelcoming Environment
Because I became a top producer and I was rapidly promoted, soon my previous boss and I became peers. He was a regional sales director; I was a regional sales director. I could tell that he assigned my ability to do well to my looks. He thought I got that far because I was female. I was exotic. I was using my looks. But I was working my butt off. I was working twice as hard. I was working on the road and bringing my infant daughter along. I would pull over the side of the road so I could breastfeed her. Ultimately, this man, who decided I was to be his adversary, did everything he could do to make me feel unwelcome in subtle ways.