by Solange Lopes | May 18, 2014 | Career |
Barbara Walters – abcnews.com
Happy Sunday!
For anyone who cares about women at work (and for anyone who doesn’t, please graduate to the 21st century), this past week definitely showed us more about women at work than is usually directly told. After a 50-something career in television, during which she opened the doors of television broadcasting to countless women, television legend Barbara Walters stepped down. Meanwhile, another legendary news woman, Jill Abramson, the first woman to ever serve as editor of the New York Times, left the paper as top editor amidst insisting allegations that she was let go after discovering that her predecessor was paid more and asking herself for equal compensation.
1 week, 2 pioneers in the history of women at work exited their respective professional
Jill Abramson – theguardian.com
scenes in very different, yet relatable, circumstances. Will women at work ever be the same after this? In the midst of “equal pay for equal work” (failed) legislation attempts, entrepreneurship rise, and more and more women opting out of Big Corporate, losing two symbols of woman “pioneerism” is a lot to stomach at once.
When asked on the “Farewell” show on ABC this past Friday if the situation for women has changed since the days she first served as a newswoman, Barbara Walters calmly but convincingly responded: “No!” And as much as I did not want to, I believed her. Yes, we may have more opportunities nowadays. We may be able to at least pretend to climbing the ranks of professional success as men have always done.
Yet, as Abramson’s alleged ousting has shown us, we may still have to settle for a compensatory title devoid of the corresponding compensation. Yet, as we strive to “lean in” and sit at the negotiation table, we may still be judged on characteristics like being too “pushy”, or being overly assertive. Yet, as we sometimes sacrifice marriage and kids, as Barbara Walters implied in her farewell interview, to open doors for others coming after us, we may still face more closed doors than our fellow men, and still be left wondering at the end of the day, if it all were worth the trouble!
Yes, we are not men, we are women, and as far as I am concerned, I love it this way! And yes, we still have ways to go to figure out our own dreams, and allow ourselves (and society) to make enough progress to turn these into reality!
Yet in the midst of our struggle, and through our progress, this week was a good time to stop and reflect on where we go from here. Where we, as women of all races, backgrounds, circumstances and aspirations, pick up where two great women left off….
Happy Sunday!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | May 12, 2014 | Career |
Work Gossip – huffingtonpost.com[/caption]
Happy happy Monday! Hope all of you corporate sisters out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day week-end, and that you are up and ready to face the day on this sunny Monday (at least on this side of the blogosphere)…Ok, ok, a bit too enthusiastic for a Monday morning, when many of us would rather get back under the covers and watch some gossip channel…
Well…about gossip, some good news is that it can actually help you at work. Unlike what Aunt Shayna’s advice may recommend, minding your own business at work may not exactly play to your best advantage. Actually, quite the opposite may prove to be true. Gossiping, positive gossiping that is, may actually very well turn out to be one of your main career advancement ingredients.
Spreading positive gossip about your work or department will pay back. As the famous saying goes, charity begins at home. And when it comes to gossiping, the rules are the same. Have you recently successfully completed an outstanding project? Has the department you manage been nominated for a Breakthrough Award? Or are you just working on new, exciting projects that may bring about some positive changes? Well, gossip about it. Good news and positive energy are contagious, and while they may shine some great light on you, they may also encourage others to follow suit.
Speak positively of others: if you have to spread gossip about others, let it be positive. And by the same token, let it reflect positively on you as well. Have a member of your tea who’s just been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the company? Gossip about her. Is your Director spearheading one of the most innovative projects since sliced bread? Yup, time to gossip.
Influence positive change through gossip: Not only should you use your gossiping power for your own and others’ career good, you can also encourage colleagues, managers and other stakeholders to join in the fun. Careers and career advancement are no longer what they used to be. As networking plays a huge part in what have increasingly become non-traditional career paths, we are called to non-traditional (and frankly more fun) devices, like some good ol’ (positive) gossiping.
Gossiping at work? Good for you…
by Solange Lopes | May 7, 2014 | Career
mybrownbaby.com
Happy Wednesday!
Yesss, it’s Hump-Day, almost there….As minority corporate sisters, and married moms, many are the stereotypes and labels we face. From work to the mall, the looks towards minority women carry some of the same popular labels we are used to facing in the media, at the supermarket, or around our cubicles. Labels such as “unmarried”, “single mom”, “welfare”…etc.
After having my children and accepting a new position, I constantly felt the need to justify myself. To legitimize what was already legitimate. To make sure everyone knew I was married, and not a single mom. That I would be able to travel and fulfill my job responsibilities just like any other professional, if not better?
For many a corporate sister, being a minority, a mom and a professional is a tough balance to maintain as it is, without adding to it the societal, economic and at times even political pressures of our complex identities.
I remember the raised eyebrows, some in sheer disbelief, others in pure wonder, when I mentioned how gifted my daughter is in piano. Or how my husband and I strive for our kids to attend private school. Or how we have yet to experience any shootings in my neighborhood.
And as much as we want to tell our stories, and sound off in order to dispel myths and stereotypes even within our own communities, at times even the most vocal among us tire of justifying what shouldn’t require justification.
Yes, defying stereotypes and crusading against wrong labels is certainly worth the effort for the good of all…but some days, I just want to do my job well, go home and chill out, just like everyone else…
Just sayin’…
by Solange Lopes | May 6, 2014 | Career
Happy Tuesday! Day 2 of this week already, and we’re still on our professional best…
As Mother’s Day is fast approaching, many a professional mom and corporate sister are certainly thinking about what it means to be a minority, a woman, and a mom at work…that is, if you even have time to think! So we at The Corporate Sister, want to take some time this week to recognize the continuous struggles and successes of minority women and moms at work, by highlighting some of the many stories around us.
Take Alesha for instance. Alesha has two young children under the age of 5, and works full-time as a banking branch manager. Alesha is an African-American mom, wife and professional.
This morning, as every morning, Alesha got the kids ready, dropped one off at daycare and the other at pre-school. Upon arriving at work, she stepped onto a hostile interaction between one of her team members and an angry customer. As she attempted to intervene, the customer, who also happens to be Caucasian male, rudely requested to speak to the manager in charge.
As she calmly replied that she was the manager in charge, he gave her the most incredulous look, turned around and said “Well, then, no wonder this place is terrible! Don’t they train you to do your job?”
After the irate customer left, Alesha went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet seat and just buried her face in her hands. This was not the first negative customer experience she’s ever had, and would certainly not be the last. So why was she so angry? All she could hear in her clouded mind were the words “Black”, “female” and “incompetent”. Despite all her experience, potential and ability, she was constantly reminded that as a minority woman and mom at work, she may just never be enough! As she lifted her eyes and looked up at her watch, she noticed it was only 9am. And she had to call the pediatrician to reschedule the little one’s appointment, since an impromptu meeting had come up at work this afternoon.
How many more of us go through similar situations at work, trying to justify our very presence? How many more wonder if after all, being a minority, a woman and a mom is just too much? Yet we continuously strive for better…
Are you a woman, minority and mom at work? If so, would you like to share your experience?
by Solange Lopes | Apr 17, 2014 | Career
Photo: britnidanielle.com
Happy Thursday!
As ambitious, career-savvy corporate women, many, if not most of us, have not only heard of, but subscribed to the “Lean In” movement authored by Sheryl Sandberg. And seriously, you’ve got to be living under a rock not to have heard of it, with all the media buzz and general debate, even controversy around it…
And talking about controversy,one of the comments I’ve repeatedly heard discussed about in professional Black and minority women circles, is around how much, in all objectivity, the whole “Lean In” movement applies to us, Black and minority women. As Sandberg points it out herself in one of the first chapters of her book, the corporate statistics in very many different aspects for Black and minority women are way worse than that of Caucasian women. And if we can add to that, our history, realities and struggles also happen to be drastically different, thus pre-disposing us to even lower levels of corporate presence, engagement and consequently, success.
As biased as this may sound, many a Caucasian woman’s, if not most, first encounter with discrimination occurs in the corporate world; while Black and minority women count discrimination as an everyday reality and occurrence throughout their lives, and are mentally, psychologically and spiritually worn out by the time they even make their first step up the corporate ladder. And while Caucasian women have their gender and demographics as a barrier to their career advancement, we have History, gender, socio-economic, political and demographic realities, among so many others, to thank for an already late start in our corporate careers, not to mention the crawling progress we’ve made so far.
So dear Ms. Sandberg, as you’ve recognized the need for, and actually just published a new “Lean In” book for new graduates, wouldn’t you also agree that Black and minority women also face a unique set of circumstances that deserves to be explored, discussed and dealt with too?
Sincerely,
The Corporate Sister.
The Corporate Sister
