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.
Promotion
I am a Middle Eastern, younger woman and I was working for an internet marketing company that was run by 2 British Men.
I expected good performance and results to count at my new workplace, especially because we demanded similar principles in the firms we invested in.
I would have stayed if I didn't have to report to the crazy woman who knew next-to-nothing; if the organization allowed real (not pretended) communication between staff at all levels; if people were not hired and promoted based on relationships outside of the company.
At my former job, I experienced sexual harassment from a senior employee. I was not the only female in the office to be on the receiving end of inappropriate comments, jokes and touches, but I was the only person to report this to Human Resources.
I would have stayed if my managers appreciated the hard work I put into my time with their organization.
I had been passed over for more than one promotion by people with less seniority, experience, and knowledge but what really was the last straw was the rampant sexual harassment.
I'm really sick and tired of all the bullsh*t that goes on. Instead of being worried about job performance, we employees have to worry about which college you attended, what your hobbies are (God forbid if it's not golf), whether you're too fat or too thin, whether you're muscular or scrawny.
I was hired as an office manager for a boutique graphic design agency and several months into the job, my boss fired all the higher-level (i.
Throughout my corporate sales career, I was always given a lower base salary and mistreated by my male counterparts.
I was given a promotion at a major financial trust company. The promotion turned out to be in title only, my salary was never changed.
