re: For people on this board under 30

quote:

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In corporate America, you're far more likely to see a scenario where the diligent man is working his tail off, and gets more work to do while hits diverse team mate is promoted for equity's sake.

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I worked in a male dominated industry. The company decided to actively recruit more women to the workforce. One day a new employee was assigned to work for me. It was a Jamaican woman who was born there and since became a permanent resident in the States. She worked her butt off for me, we both had a mutual respect for one another, and she did great, but was way down the chain in seniority for her position. Then we lost a contract and we knew the chances of a layoff was high.

I resigned before it could happen to me. The woman came in my office worried about getting laid off (she mentioned this several times before). I closed the door and told her we can have a conversation where I use corporate jargon, buzzwords, consult a policy manual for situations like this….or, I can talk to you like we are having after work beers at the local watering hole. She said she wants the watering hole talk. I told her to friggin relax and there is no way they are going to lay off a black female with hard to achieve academic certifications, and they will lay off a seasoned guy to keep you around. She smiled, laughed, and felt better.

We kept in touch after I left. She never got laid off and instead was promoted. She was a great employee so she earned it, but the company looked at the situation in a different light.