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.
Insensitivity
I am an older woman who decided to enter the corporate world because the career I had chosen was no longer viable due to the extreme amount of physical labor it took to complete each day.
I was a Sr. Leader at my company and I had high hopes of going far. I worked very closely with another Latino straight man during a project.
I overheard my superiors refer to me as being stupid to the client that I introduced to the firm. After that I tried to salvage my relationship with the client, however it was too late.
Working in Corporate America as a Black, gay man with AIDS feels like fighting a war I can't see
I lost my corporate job while I was in the Hospital in 1995 being treated for AIDS. My Company was in a process of down-sizing, however I was informed that they were going to keep me.
I have a co-worker whose office is next to mine. We both have braids in our hair and are dark-skinned.
My last encounter in corporate America-- the one that let me know without question that it was time for me to get out-- was when I was in charge of Quality Assurance (QA) for a software development company and they brought in a new QA Manager who knew nothing about QA.
I would have stayed at my previous job at Bank of America...if I thought I was helping people in my job, not contributing to suffering, being compensated fairly for my labor, and being allowed to get a proper night's sleep.
I am a female attorney who worked in the corporate environment amongst mostly men. I finally excused myself from Business/Legal Affairs meetings because the other men would ignore me and literally speak right over me as I was speaking even though I was the representative of the department who had the pertinent information.
During my first year of law school, I had an off campus interview with a law firm. My fellow female Italian-American classmate was already in the office having her interview as I waited outside in the reception area.
I worked in the sports industry and there were a lot of times where I felt like gestures, comments, and suggestions were going way beyond "playful joking.
