Professionalism
comments powered by Disqus
May the Discussion Begin
March 20, 2008
On Monday, the day before Senator Barak Obama addressed the issue of race in a nationally televised speech, a client and I lunched together. It turns out this particular client and I share many attributes. We are both women. We are approximately the same age. We were both born into the same faith. We are driven professionals. We differ primarily in terms of race.
In part, because of whom we are, our conversation eventually turned to politics. Penny asked about my impressions of Senator Obama and the impact I felt the comments of Trinity United Church of Christ Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr. might have on the Senator’s presidential aspirations. Before long, we were in the midst of a lengthy conversation about the need for Americans to openly discuss the issues of gender, race and sexual preference that so often divide us, especially in today’s workplaces.
I see those divides daily. A white male senior partner asks if it’s permissible to compliment a woman employee, noting his concerns with the “risks” associated with any such a remark. A woman professional expresses frustration with a male colleague, who, she says, frequently interrupts her in mid-sentence and then takes credit for her ideas. An HR professional expresses amazement with the number of times she hears professionals refer to candidates who are of color described as “articulate,” a term, she reports, she has never heard used with a white candidate. A new professional expresses genuine fear with regards to introducing his gay partner at an office event as just that, “his gay partner.”
This year’s political campaigns provide us with a unique opportunity to openly discuss issues that are just as real and just as relevant as the war in Iraq and the state of the economy. Senator Obama is correct in noting that often we have these discussions, but we do so with people who are just like us. It is past time for us to reach across the divides that separate us. We must begin to understand that we bring different experiences to the workplace and that by embracing those differences we can build stronger work environments in the future.
comments powered by Disqus
