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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 tried to keep quiet that I had a son
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- African-American
- Banking - Investment
- Considering Leaving
- Management Consulting
- Double Life
- Worklife Balance
The constant travel kills your life and it's nearly impossible to meet someone and get married. After I left, I applied for another position at a top tier consulting firm and tried desperately to keep quiet the fact that I had a son. During the phone interview, my nanny had to interrupt me and the woman interviewer said to me, 'Wow, I'm so impressed with your ability to multi-task." I was lucky it was a woman interviewer. At work, people don't see having children as a positive.