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.
Accountability
I would want my boss to be confronted and to speak to me in a mature and professional manner. I would also want human resources to take care of the situation.
At the law firm I was at, anyone who looked at you in the hallway could write you a review. One guy who I never talked to wrote me a review that said, "She smiles too much. She is not serious enough.
When I told my boss that I was upset with my bonus, he said, "This year I wasn't involved in the bonus process. Some of the senior people decided that they were going to give out bonuses based on thei
Part of my responsibility was to hire people to manage some of our assets, so I would get bids from various companies. However, the division manager wanted to get involved in the process and to give business to some of his associates and friends.
