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.
Good Boss
In my current position at a nonprofit, I asked my boss, "How important is it for us to meet the bottom line if we are going to be financially stable on the cash side?" My boss replied, "We're really about the mission.
There were a lot of men of color who were fabulous. I told them that I wanted to start my own company. The day after I gave notice, the stock market crashed. So one man of color called me in and said, "I don't want to know your personal situation but it may not be the best time to go out on your own.
I'm going to say something that may be stereotyping against Arab-Americans. But since I am one of them, I think I can say it. We think, "Because I am an Arab-American this is how I am getting treated." We get stuck on that.
I've been very fortunate at my workplace. When I started, I had a very operational job. I was getting my MBA so I didn't care much. When I was almost done with my MBA, I got an offer from a strategic think tank and I was really happy about it.
When my family came to visit from Egypt, my boss was actually very supportive. I got yelled at quite a few times for not taking time off. He'd say, "You have to go take care of your parents. They are only here for a couple of weeks." I said I won't drive them to the airport because my brother-in-law could take him.
I was in the corporate world for 15 years. I lost several family members in a two-year period. I had a wonderful boss who offered to keep me on the payroll and let me take time off. After losing so many close to me, I realized what was important, and I didn't want to die at a desk.
As African American women, we are accustomed to putting white women at ease. It's not brain surgery for us. I was the only black woman in my organization. Even at my interview, I noticed that the board president was uncomfortable.
I was fortunate. I had an ally in my boss. While the board president was a woman who didn't always trust my abilities, my boss, a man, knew what I could do. We didn't have a managing director for a year, so he let me do it.
My boss was the first Jewish person to be president of the organization. He told me stories of things that happened to him. There were board members who would tell anti-Semitic jokes at board meetings and everyone would laugh.
I can't say anything negative really about my managers and the work I did in my corporate job. When my manager found out that I wanted to teach, he allowed me to take off early on Fridays to teach, to give a lecture at the local community college.
