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.
Inflexible Environment
Become a robot, deny yourself lunch before 5 or else you'll come off as greedy, answer to all tedious meetings to discuss meetings as if you just won the lottery, treat your boss with the kind of non-questioning reverence you would a sovereign king, never talk back, hide all facets of your personality.
I had a "this is the last straw moment" in 2003 when I was handling a very demanding client. She kept sending us a particular kind of rose and requesting that our cashmere dyeing department exactly duplicate the color of the tip of each petal.
I started out in the area of testing and measurement. But overtime I wanted to navigate toward the development side and away from the stress of the manufacturing side, but corporate politics got in the way.
