Dealing with issues related to race in the workplace is a challenge for many professionals of color. Nearly every black woman in the workforce can attest to undergoing some form of racism, whether overt or covert, at the hands of a client, customer, colleague, or manager. Sometimes it’s in the form of a microaggression while, at other times,
sisters are passed over for a deserved promotion or bonus without a reasonable explanation. It’s also the root cause of many of the unnecessary obstacles and hurdles that women of color face on the job but, somehow, it makes us stronger. (from L-R) Aisha Thomas-Petit, Carolynn Johnson, Sarah Eames, and Valerie Rainford (Black Enterprise)At the 2019 Women of Power Summit
incontent-ad2">Here are a few of the gems that the speakers shared during the session, titled “Intersectionality: An Honest Conversation About Race in the Workplace.”
Valerie Rainford (Black Enterprise)Valerie Rainford
Managing Director; Head of Advancing Black Leaders & Diversity Advancement Strategies, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- “It’s very uncomfortable to talk about race.”
- “Sometimes we don’t know our own power to change a culture…[and] our own ability to slay.”
- “Angry doesn’t work everywhere, but passion does…know your culture.”
- “When I had that epiphany—that there is nobody who walks, talks, and thinks like Valerie Rainford—that became my competitive advantage.”
Carolynn Johnson (Black Enterprise)
Carolynn Johnson
COO, DiversityInc.
- “I am an angry black woman. I’m owning it [so that] you won’t shame me by saying it.”
- “Power is not taken. Power is given.”
- “I didn’t realize that I was in a box until I was gently uplifted out of it.”
- “I was ready to give up.”
- “Allies aren’t just white men or people who have more power than you.”
- In order to get over our fear and our shame, we have to understand the other side of racial fatigue.
Aisha Thomas-Petit (Black Enterprise)
Aisha Thomas-Petit
Division Vice President, HR, ADP
- In order to create an ally, you actually have to have a deeper relationship in order to do so.
- Look at your networks: are they diverse and inclusive?
- Being a woman and black “is actually a double blessing.”