Through your corporate journey, however long it’s been, you may have noticed that there are not a lot of sisters out there with you…Look around you at meetings, and you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of minorities sitting at the table. Divide that by 2, and that may just equal how many sisters are actually present (which most times is closer to 0). That’s just a fact, plain ol’ simple fact.
I remember my first years in public accounting, being assigned to successive audit teams where time and time again, I was the only Black woman standing (or sitting or counting). And during those long “busy season” hours when we worked 12 to 14 hour days, I found myself seriously missing the unique comradery of sisters, the occasional hair or outfit advice, or the more than occasional cultural references… Not to be exclusive of anyone else, we just have to admit that as human beings, especially through the ups and downs of the corporate jungle, we find comfort, strength and resilience in those things and people who are familiar. And whether justified or not, our natural first reaction is to feel somewhat intimidated when frankly, there are not many of us around…And in an environment when you’ll come to learn that unspoken alliances and tacit codes very often rule over actual performance, and in a society where prejudice and discrimination are still very much rampant, it’s even more prevalent…Just sayin’…..
So where are the corporate sisters at? With the number of Black female college graduates rising, and despite the fact that women’s workforce participation is about equal to or greater than that of men, they are nowhere to be found…Actually, according to a survey by League of Black Women, professional black women make up only 1% of U.S. corporate officers, despite the fact that 75% of corporate executives believe that having minorities in senior level positions enables innovation and better serves a diverse customer base, says Sandra Finley, CEO of the League of Black Women.
There, you’ve got your answer…For a variety of socio-economic, political, and simply historical reasons that this post cannot even begin to get into, sisters are painfully absent from the corporate world. And for the few that happen to be there, they are stuck somewhere between menial jobs and middle management…It’s just the reality, and it’s just the reason why you, yes you, one of the rare corporate sisters out there, can make a difference…
The Corporate Sister.
