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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.
Critical of Others But Can't Hold Up a Mirror to Themselves
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- African-American
- Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical
- Health Care
- Double Standards
- Recruiting
I worked for a major health insurance provider when one of the Asian directors of a small research unit was hiring multiple Asian employees. No one doubted that they candidates were qualified but when word reached HR, they said, "What's going on? He's hiring all these Asians." I replied, "What's going on in the engineering department? They keep hiring all these white men." It never even occurred to them how racist they were being or how blind they were to the same practices which involved white men.