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.
Dress Code
I actually did very well with clients, customers, new/prospective employees, with anyone outside of my work group.
My peers made comments about my braids and even touched my hair without asking. My hairstyle was very professional and not out of the ordinary in anyway.
Throughout my career I have experienced various levels of racism from very blatant to subtle comments. When I began my career at a large automotive company in Michigan I reported to a "good old boy" who worked for the company for more than 30 years. During my first month on the job during one of our one on one meetings he stated, "I don't think women or black people should be in the workforce." Needless to say I began documenting everything from that point on.
When I finally got hired, I had to meet with the administrator and the first thing she said was, "I hear that you don't wear dresses." And I said, "Is there a problem with that? Is there some sort of dress code?" And I looked around and all of the other women there were wearing slacks.
There was a dress code at the ad agency and at this oil company where you had to wear short skirts and heels. That was a published dress code policy! For someone who considers herself a butch lesbian, everyday of my life I felt like I was in drag having to go to work in drag.
