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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.
When I'm traveling
- Workplace Unfairness
- Male
- Arab/Arab-American
- Banking - Retail
- Considering Leaving
- Inappropriate Comments
- Personal Response
- Stereotyping
- Unwelcoming Environment
When I'm traveling, some will say, "allow extra time when you are going to the airport." I'm like, "Yeah, I know." It's that kind of thing that will come up. But it's about the way you handle it. If you make a big fuss about it and get aggressive or defensive, I think for the most part it will encourage more of those kinds of comments. If you let it get to you, it will get to you. If you just let it go and get them back some other way, it works better. It varies; some of it is acceptable and some of it is not.