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.
Pregnancy
Within six months of my new job, I found out I was pregnant. I told my boss, "I'm so happy. I'm pregnant." My boss quit talking to me for a week. It was very strange because we were so close. So I pulled him aside and asked, "What's wrong here? Why aren't you talking to me?" He said, "Well, you know, you were my walk-on-water.
I left because I wanted to go part time and that just wasn't in the cards. I was trying to have a baby. The funny thing is that when I asked if I could go part time they said, "No, no. If you want to work part time then other people will want to work part time." I said I understood and that I was leaving to go work in a non-profit.
