Why am I here?
This was pretty much my first real corporate job after graduating university. I joined a large enterprise IT company and started off in a supporting sales role. The company realized in most other departments they didn’t have much of a contingency plan as all their employees were from the same generation and approaching retirement at the same time. A role opened up on a technical support customer facing team to which I applied and got the role. I am from a visible minority and I’m female. My manager was also female , but the rest of the team has been all male for over a decade, most of whom were about 15-20 years older than me and had been working for the company for several years . As with many large corporations, company layoffs occurred often. During one of those times, a male coworker who was 20 years older said that I was safe because I’m female, young and a visible minority.
This made me feel both deeply upset and angry because I read it as “I’m employed because I check diversity boxes” not because the company sees value in my work or that i’m actually qualified. Needless to say I spoke to my manager at the time and she said yes you were hired because you’re female and you were hired because you were the best person for the role. As a younger employee, I was very eager to learn and establish a career for myself, hearing that comment from the more experienced team members made me question my abilities and value and did strip away some of the confidence I had which landed me the job in the first place.
If you don’t know, ask.
We had recently hired an intern on the team and were having a discussion about her performance. The director in the room was conservative, heterosexual and of Middle Eastern decent. The intern being talked about was Caucasian, liberal, and a lesbian.
Sexual Harassment Applies to All Genders
My female director was quite liberal in how she shows up (self declared). In fact, one time she assessed me as a "prude" because I did not think conversations about sexual escapades should be had in the office or with coworkers (especially those who report into you or you report into)....
A blessing and a curse
One day my manager, who was also female , called me in for a meeting. She informed me that there were some rumours questioning if I was in a relationship with one of my close.....
Why am I here?
During one of those times, a male coworker who was 20 years older said that I was safe because I'm female, young and a visible minority.....
Lady Banker Buys House and Shocks Executive
"Oh, you BOUGHT something?" (emphasis is original, and it was and continues to be a hot real estate market). I said yes, and he bellowed, "Well, that's excellent - congratulations!" He followed that question up with another, which was, "And congratulations on that, too - I didn't know that you got married!!...
Not “VP Material”
As a woman of colour I had been tracking up through my large hospital quickly. I was the bright star in the first few years and has steadily taken on more and more responsibility. As I found my footing, I began to speak up more and more about health equity and inclusion in the workplace....
Diminishment
I commenced in my role with significant access to my boss, with, at a minimum, weekly one-on-one meetings.
As time went on, the time dedicated to those meetings was reduced or the meeting itself was cancelled in its entirety.
Being called ‘a girl’ as an adult woman
When we would come to present in front of the client and various departments within their workplace, our contact would say 'the girls from (our company name) are here to present...
Mistaking Colleagues’ Names – Interchanging Them
The CEO used to confuse and call team members of the same ethnicity and gender the wrong name - using the name of another colleague. It didn't just happen once or twice but consistently.
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