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Can I speak for a moment about Black female talent, diversifying workplaces, and what to do/not do? I wrote a book on careers, among several others. But this is more gleaned from all the off-the-record conversations that tell me how workplaces function.
Professors Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev wrote in HBR "By headlining the legal case for diversity and trotting out stories of huge settlements, they issue an implied threat: `Discriminate, and the company will pay the price.'" https://hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail
More of Profs Dobbin and Kalev's work, this time on sexual harassment, here: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/06/sociologists-examine-why-so-many-harassment-programs-fail-and-what-can-be-done-about-them/
Black women are, to state the obvious, both Black and female. That means we face all sorts of incoming winds... and also have many superpowers. Which constantly get tapped without compensation.
If we are whistleblowers, or simply leave ethically compromised companies, we often take a hit in pay which compounds negatively over time. Paying Black women based on previous salary implies you're okay with how we were probably underpaid in previous jobs.
Also, we are not the HR department, unless we are. Yet HR things mysteriously keep getting put on our docket, again with no additional compensation and often not only with no support, but with critiques of not being a team player.
In some fortunate sectors, there is a gold rush on for Black female talent. But, are you ready? Is your company ethically ready to empower the leadership of Black women, and benefit from the wisdom and innovation of people who work around blockages in capital and support?
That resiliency and innovation is a superpower, particularly in today's world. But at the same time, if workplaces are not ready for Black female talent, we'll have power struggles and burnout. We can do better. If you're hiring Black female talent, make yourself ready.
