Tag: racism

Discrimination Can Happen At Any Level

One of my buddies
is a skilled salesperson.
She is also very detailed-oriented,
which is why
she found it surprising
that legal
would block or significantly delay
every one of her deals.

Seeking to fix this issue,
she asked a trusted coworker
to look at her contracts
before she submitted them.

He found no issues with them.
This white male salesperson
said he had submitted similar deals
in the past
and received no pushback
from legal.

She submitted the contracts.
Legal blocked them.

She brought this issue up
at a department meeting.
Every woman in that department
had the same issue.

The Legal department of one
was an older white guy.

Recognize that the ‘isms
– racism, sexism, etc
– could happen at any level
in an organization.

Legal could block
the sales of female salespeople
in an organization.
The mail person
could ‘lose’ the deliveries
of people of color.
Reception could ‘fail to connect’
the calls for trans employees.

Monitor complaints
and
take them seriously.
Look for patterns.

Our organizations
aren’t truly exclusive
if someone within it
is discriminating against others.

The Speakers You Seek

A salesperson loved one
was attending a conference
with his clients.

He had enough clients
to warrant special workshops.

He was given a list of speakers
to choose from.

He was surprised
to get all his top picks,
the best,
he believes,
people in each topic
he wanted covered.

All his top picks
were women and/or
people of color.

The white male speakers
with less experience
and less skill
had ‘sold out.’

The other speakers,
although they were better qualified,
still had openings
in their schedule.

When organizing an event,
ask for the best speakers
on the topics you want covered.

Those best speakers
are likely not white or male.
And they are, unfortunately,
likely to be available.

Oh, and this shouldn’t have to be said,
but compensate your speakers
according to their skill
and knowledge,
not their skin color
or genitals.

Someone Told Him No

James Patterson,
one of the best selling authors
in the world,
owner of a publishing house
with thousands of
best selling releases,
and
proud user of ghostwriters
(he outsources the writing
of his own novels),
is

“worried that
it is hard for white men
to get writing gigs
in film, theatre,
TV or publishing”.

“[It’s] just another form
of racism.
What’s that all about?
Can you get a job?
Yes.
Is it harder?
Yes.”

In other words,
someone dared
to tell him no,
to not consider him
for one opportunity.

“When you’re accustomed
to privilege,
equality feels like
oppression.”

You’re going to hear
more bellyaching
from
(often super successful)
old white guys
about being oppressed.

They’re not accustomed
to being told no,
to competing
with the rest of us.

Ignore them.
We have our own
businesses to build.