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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.
You're smarter than you look...
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- Mixed Race
- Lesbian
- Banking - Investment
- Non-Profit
- Assumptions
- Inappropriate Comments
- Jokes
- Undervalued
As a college graduate from a women's college, I was lucky to always feel like I was more than just my body but when I aced a review faster than my male colleagues, one of them nonchalantly told me that I was "smarter than you look." Working in a predominately male workplace with few women made it difficult to assert my voice in a meaningful way. Not to mention being queer and feel safe enough to share my life with my partner in fear of being target for jokes. Although, just being a woman made me the target of many inappropriate come-ons, etc.