EMPLOYER
EMPLOYER TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE I STRUGGLE FOR YEARS WONDERING WHAT WAS WRONG WITH
ME.
HOW COULD I BETTER MYSELF?
HOW COULD I FIX MYSELF?
SOFT SKILLS DID I NEED YOU KNOW,
HOW DO YOU GET THE SEAT AT THE
TABLE?
I QUESTION MY OWN, YOU KNOW, AM
I NOT PROFESSIONAL TO LISA
LAVERY OF SEATTLE ADMITS THAT
SHE ALMOST GAVE UP ON HERSELF.
I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO LIVE
ANYMORE.
I FELT LIKE I HAD NO PLACE.
I FELT LIKE I COULDN'T GET IT
RIGHT NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED
HER STRUGGLE LIFE IN CORPORATE
AMERICA LAVERY WORKED AS AN
EVENT PLANNER FOR MORE THAN A
DECADE A DREAM JOB THAT TURNED
INTO DRAMA.
ALTHOUGH I WAS ABLE TO GET
THROUGH THE DOOR.
I SUFFERED A LOT AND I DIDN'T
KNOW AT THE TIME.
THEY WERE CALLED MICRO
AGGRESSIONS OR BIASES RIGHT
MICROAGRESSIONS ARE DESCRIBED AS
AS THE INDIRECT SUBTLE OR
CHANNEL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
MEMBERS OF A MARGINALIZED GROUP
TO LISA GAVE US ONE OF MORE
EGREGIOUS EXAMPLES I WAS MOSTLY,
IT'S ANOTHER WHITE WOMAN AND SHE
BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT HOW SHE
WOULD BRING HER HUSBAND TO THIS
PARTICULAR EVENT AND JUST OUT OF
CURIOSITY.
I SAID, OH ARE WE ABLE TO BRING
A GUEST TO THE EVENT?
AND SHE SAID SURE AS LONG AS HE
DOESN'T HAVE BRAIDED HAIR AND
GOLD TEETH HAS ATTRACTING THE
RIGHT CANDIDATES IS ALL ABOUT
THE RIGHT JOB LISTINGS RUCHIKA
TOLL SHEEHAN AND INCLUSION
STRATEGIST AND AUTHOR OF THE
DIVERSITY ADVANTAGE SAYS STORIES
LIKE TO LEASES ARE QUITE COMMON
AND SHE SAYS UNTIL THE PROTEST
THIS SUMMER MOST COMPANIES WERE
LEPTIN TO EVEN TALK ABOUT RACE
WHEN I WAS ASKED TO SPEAK AT
ORGANIZATIONS, ESPECIALLY LARGE
WELL-KNOWN ORGANIZATIONS THE
CALL TO ACTION TO ME WAS PLEASE
DON'T REALLY TALK ABOUT RACE,
YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU CAN MENTION
IT, BUT PLEASE TALK ABOUT LIKE
GENDER EQUALITY TALK ABOUT WOMEN
IN THE WORKPLACE AND IN HER WORK
RUCHIKA POINTS TO ANOTHER
FRUSTRATION THAT GETS IN THE WAY
OF PROGRESS THIS IDEA OF
MERITOCRACY, YOU KNOW THIS IDEA
THAT IF HARD ENOUGH YOU'RE GOING
TO GET HEAD AND THEREFORE IF
PEOPLE ARE NOT REPRESENTED IN
THE WORKPLACE.
WE DO PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE NOT
REPRESENTED IN THE WORKPLACE.
IT'S BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T TRY
HARD ENOUGH.
THEY DIDN'T GET THE DEGREES THAT
THEY NEEDED TO GET.
THEY DIDN'T LEAN IN HARD ENOUGH
AND WHAT WE FIND AND YOU KNOW
DATA BACKS THIS UP IS THAT'S
ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE AND
DISCRIMINATION SEEMS TO START
WITH THE RESUME ACCORDING TO
RESEARCH IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE
SCIENCE QUARTERLY OUT OF 1600
PEOPLE STUDIED 25 PERCENT OF
BLACK.
CANDIDATES RECEIVE CALLBACKS IF
THEIR RESUMES REMOVED RACIAL
CLUES LIKE A FIRST NAME OR
AFFILIATION WHILE ONLY TEN
PERCENT GOT CALLS WHEN THEY LEFT
ETHNIC DETAILS INTACT AMONG
ASIANS 21% GOT CALLS THAT THEY
USE SO CALLED WHITE AND RESUMES
WHERE IS ONLY 11 AND A HALF
PERCENT HEARD BACK IF THEY SENT
RESUMES WITH RACIAL REFERENCES
AND THERE APPEARS TO BE ECONOMIC
CONSEQUENCES TO THIS RESEARCH
SHOWS THE BLACK AND WHITE GAP IS
AS WIDE AS IT WAS IN 1968
REGARDLESS OF THE EDUCATION
LEVEL BLACK FAMILIES WHOSE MAIN
WAGE EARNERS GRADUATED FROM
COLLEGE HAVE ABOUT 33 PERCENT
LESS WEALTH THAN WHITE FAMILIES
WHOSE HEADS DROPPED OUT OF HIGH
SCHOOL AFTER THE RECENT BLACK
LIVES MATTER PROTEST NUMEROUS
CORPORATIONS PUBLICLY EXPRESS
THEIR SUPPORT AND PROMISED
CHANGE.
THERE'S A WAY THAT THINGS KEEP
HAPPENING THAT THE SAME -- THING
HAPPENS GENERATION AFTER
GENERATION, AND IT'S BECAUSE
SOMEBODY DECIDED TO GO ALONG
WITH IT INSTEAD OF TRYING TO
STOP IT.
THAT'S GLENN KELMAN THE CEO OF
REDFIN TALKING ABOUT THE
COMPANY'S EFFORTS TO REDUCE BIAS
WHEN IT COMES TO HIRING AND
PROMOTIONS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOMEONE HAS
SOME NEFARIOUS RACIST PASS.
IT JUST MEANS THAT WE ALL COME
INTO WORK WITH GROUPS OF PEOPLE
WERE COMFORTABLE WITH AND GROUPS
OF PEOPLE WHO WE HAVEN'T TALKED
TO AS MUCH AND IT MAY BE THAT WE
WE END UP GIVING THE ANSWERS TO
THE TEST.
SOMEBODY WE PLAY TENNIS WITH AND
THEN THEY TEND TO DO BETTER AT
WORK REDFIN STARTED FOCUSING ON
RACIAL DIVERSITY IN 2018
SPECIFICALLY IN MANAGEMENT ROLES
AND THEIR OWN DATA SHOWS.
THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN SLOW, BUT
AFTER THE RECENT PROTESTS THE
COMPANY DOUBLED DOWN
IMPLEMENTING BONUSES FOR SENIOR
EXECUTIVES IF THEY HIT SPECIFIC
DIVERSITY TARGETS AND INCREASING
WHAT'S CALLED PAY TRANSPARENCY.
THAT'S WHEN SALARIES ARE NO
LONGER A BIG SECRET EXPERTS SAY
IT'S ONE WAY TO TO REDUCE THE
PAY GAP YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO
TELL.
BLACK EMPLOYEE A FEMALE EMPLOYEE
A WHITE EMPLOYEE.
HERE'S THE AVERAGE YOU'RE BELOW
THE AVERAGE BECAUSE YOUR
UNDERPERFORMING OR YOU'RE ABOVE
THE AVERAGE BECAUSE YOUR
OVER-PERFORMING AND HERE'S THE
DATA THAT I'M BASING THAT ON
THIS PROJECT OR THAT PROJECT OR
THIS SALE OR THAT SALE, BUT JUST
SAYING THE PAY IS FAIR.
THESE ARE NOT THE DROIDS YOU'RE
LOOKING FOR WE NEED TO MOVE ON
YOU YOU WILL NEVER MOVE ON AND
NO MORE SINCERE FORM OF
RECOGNITION JUST PAINT PEOPLE
WHAT'S RIGHT OTHER COMPANIES ARE
ALSO RAMPING UP DIVERSITY
EFFORTS AND LATE SUMMER AMAZON
ANNOUNCED A NUMBER OF NEW HIRES
IN KEY POSITIONS AND APPOINTED
THE FIRST BLACK EXECUTIVE TO
JEFF BEZOS S TEAM.
IT'S A GROUP OF LEADERS WHO SET
THE COMPANY'S PRIORITIES
NORDSTROM SAYS BY THE END OF
2025 IT'LL INCREASE
REPRESENTATION OF BLACK AND
LATINO PEOPLE IN LEADERSHIP
ROLES BY 50% AND STARBUCKS SET
SIMILAR GOALS AND LAUNCHED A
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM TO CONNECT
EMPLOYEES OF COLOR TO SENIOR
LEADERS, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE.
THESE ARE ALSO BUSINESS
DECISIONS RESEARCH FROM THE
CONSULTING FIRM MCKINSEY FOUND
IN THE THREE YEARS STUDIED
COMPANIES WITH RACIAL AND ETHNIC
DIVERSITY ON THE EXECUTIVE TEAM
FINANCIALLY OUT PERFORMED THOSE
WITHOUT BY MORE THAN 30% AND
KELMAN SAYS HIS COMPANY HAS SEEN
FIRSTHAND THE VALUE OF DIVERSE
TEAMS WASN'T SOME HIGH-MINDED
LIBERALISM THAT IT WAS A
BUSINESS PRAGMATISM.
THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS
WHERE WE JUST KEPT LOOKING AT IT
ONE WAY UNTIL WE BROUGHT A
DIVERSE TEAM ON TO THAT PROBLEM
AND HAD ALL SORTS OF
PERSPECTIVES AND A BETTER
CAPACITY TO LISTEN AND TO BE
HUMBLE AND TO THINK THAT WE
MIGHT BE TOO FULL OF OURSELVES
BUT HIRING FOR DIVERSITY IS VERY
DIFFERENT THAN RETAINING THEM TO
LISA IS PROOF OF THAT RUNNING
HER OWN CONSULTING BUSINESS NOW
AND RELEASING A BOOK CALLED
CONFESSIONS FROM YOUR TOKEN
BLACK COLLEAGUE.
EGG SHE SAYS IT'S VALIDATION FOR
SOME AND A CALL TO ACTION FOR
EXECUTIVES.
THE REQUEST IS FOR YOU.
YES TO MAKE AN EXTRA EFFORT TO
ELIMINATE THOSE BIASES AND TO
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
MARGINALIZED PEOPLE WITHIN YOUR
COMPANY AND NOT TO CHECK IT OFF
THE BOX.
YES.
IT'S AN INVESTMENT OF TIME.
THERE'S AN INVESTMENT OF MONEY
AND GETTING PEOPLE TOGETHER, BUT