Nomalanga: How to Thrive as a Black Person in a Non-inclusive Workplace
Last week, I wrote about what it is like to work in a place where you are singled out because you are different. Over 100 people responded with comments, e-mails and Facebook messages, indicating to me that there was a need for some suggestions as to how “we” can thrive in the workplace.
I am generally not a big proponent of deliberately segregating people, whether the segregation is based on race or other differences. That being said, I do feel that it is naive or ignorant to pretend that we can all function in modern day workplace settings with the same outlook.
I have taken the time to compile some suggestions that can be helpful if a person of color finds themselves in a workplace that does not embrace diversity and inclusion in a sincere way. A lot of companies and institutions say that diversity and inclusion are one of their “big initiatives” but they tend to only give lip service to said initiative and then go on functioning the same way that they have always functioned.The results is then a workplace where people of color are marginalized and treated unfairly.
Here are a few suggestions to thrive as a Black person in a non-inclusive workplace:
- Expect the best but prepare for undesirable incidents: No one wants to work with a black man or woman who walks around looking to be offended or constantly pulling out the “race card”. It is important to be pleasant, competent and generally a good person and employee. When you are able to get along with others and acquire the skill to “pick your battles”, your work-life will be much more pleasant.Even though you may make the effort to get along with everyone, be diligent about documenting every incident that comes to your attention, that may be an issue later on. Confirm everything via letter and e-mail and verify everything via e-mail and letter only.
- Speak up: It is important to be vocal about what you are affected by. When a co-worker or employer says or does something that you feel is not right, it is important to send them a letter or e-mail-remember: document everything. In the letter or e-mail, be professional and cordial and express what has negatively impacted you and express a desire to resolve the issue. There is no limit to how many times you should do this.Sometimes it may seem like you write too many letters or e-mails, but in some work-places, that is what is warranted. Remember though, exercise some discretion and “pick your battles”. Also,bear in mind that if you don’t speak up, you’re more susceptible to a “blow up”. A lot of people who seem to have a rage-filled explosion are usually people who have not learned the skill of vocalizing their concerns in a timely and professional manner.
- Know your rights: Unfortunately, many employers take advantage of employees’ ignorance. If you know what is expected of you as an employee and are meeting said expectations, you should have a pleasant work environment. If you are asked to do something that is beyond the scope of your job, you have the right to refuse and you should not have negative action taken against you.
- Report illegal actions that violate your rights: Workplaces have policies and a channel that employees and employers must follow to resolve problems in the workplace. It is important to report any actions by other employees or your employer in a timely manner. Again, always conduct yourself professionally so that when you are offended, your reaction to the offense does not overshadow the original offense. Finally, if you have reported unfair treatment or a violation of your rights and no action is taken, do not hesitate to contact outside agencies, such as EEOC, to work at a resolution.
- Get mentors: A mentor does not have to have the same job as you. They do have to be a responsible and knowledgeable person, with more experience than you, that you trust to support and guide you through workplace challenges. Having a mentor has been proven to accelerate most people’s careers and is also a great way to build meaningful lifelong relationships.
Even having said all this, I still firmly believe that no one should ever have to depend on a job, entirely, to feed themselves or their loved ones. Even though, as a college instructor, I am charged with the task of delivering instruction that helps to prepare students to become employees, I never end a semester without encouraging dialogue about how the students can use their gifts and talents to generate resources for themselves that are not tied to a job. I do always jokingly remind the students to pursue these ventures in a way that is legal, moral and ethical.
At the end of the day, there is always the option to change jobs if you feel like you’re constantly singled out but there is no guarantee that the next job will not have the same problems. It is better to get in the habit of learning to function in any work place and always knowing that you have taken the necessary precautions rather than reacting to a negative experience unexpectedly.
Nomalanga helps Black Women thrive in their lives and careers. She is a Social Commentator, an Editor at Your Black World , Assistant Professor of Professional Studies and the reigning Mrs Botswana. Visit Nomalanga’s blog at successfulblackwoman.com
9 Responses to Nomalanga: How to Thrive as a Black Person in a Non-inclusive Workplace
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Very good blog. Number four can be a long journey. It can result in be ostracized.
How are you qualified to teach an American child of any race? You need to go teach your own Botswana Kung people. We dont need you affecting our culture for the worse.
Kung women give birth with the earth as primary midwife (a form of unassisted childbirth) walking away from the village camp as far as a mile during labor and birthing the child alone, delivering it into a small leaf-lined hole dug into the warm sand. The child’s cord is not clamped or cut (a form of Lotus birth or umbilical nonseverance), and the placenta is delivered and put next to the child, as guardian. Shortly thereafter, the baby-placenta is lightly covered with another large leaf, and the new mother walks a short way to verbally alert the older women of the completed birth, at which time they join the mother and child in a ritual welcoming. If a laboring woman is delayed in returning a sign to the village that she has given birth, the older women will come looking for her to assist; however, it is said to be a rare occurrence.
Corporate america has never been friendly to african americans. The doors began to open up in the 1970′s. However, having a college or advanced degree has never been enough to move up the ladder.
The blacks that I have seen move up the ladder were gifted and exceptional and simply out performed everybody. Or they were simply socially connected. Of course, I have also seen folks get ahead by sleeping around.
During the 1980′s blacks flooded corporate america with ivy league credentials. Women began to out perform men and of course that has resulted in the controversy of black women being given preferential treatment over black men.
Beginning in the late 1990′s blacks were being pushed out of corporate america. Today, not even black women are safe in corporate america.
You draw your own conclusions.
HELLO;MY NAME IS BOOKERT YEARS AGO I WAS A STORE MANAGER FOR KINNEY SHOE CORPORATION.WHEN I STARTED IN 1990 THERE WERE NO BLACKS;WORKING AT ALL FOR THAT CORPORATION IN ARKANSAS.WE HAD 21 STORES IN THE SOUTHERN REGION THAT ARE DISTRICT SALES MANAGER OVER SEEN..IT WAS ME AN 2 OTHER BLACK ME FROM TENNESSE..THAT WAS IT AN I SAW PERSONALLY SEXISM AGAINST BLACK WOMEN IN THAT CORPORATION.YOU HAVE TO CARRY YOURSELF AS A PROFESSION IN THESE BIG CORPORATION,I DRESS UP EVERY DAY BECAUSE OF THE PROFESSION DRESS CODE SET BY THE COMPANY..YOU HAVE TO BE A GREAT COMMUICATOR,AN HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR FIELD..I SAW OTHER BLACK WORKING AS MANAGER AT OTHER STORES IN THE MALL.THEY WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL WOMEN..GOOD LOOKING ALWAYS CARRIED THEM SELF WITH RESPECT AN KINDNESS.THERE WERE OTHER BLACK MEN THAT WERE MANAGER..BLACK MWN AN WOMEN HAVE TO BE ON THERE A GAME.BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO TEST YOU MORE TO SEE IF YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR STUFF.THEY TRANSFER ME 7 TIMES,IN 2 HALF YEARS I WORKED IN 7 STORES.THAT MAN TESTED ME SO MUCH.AN I ASK THE OTHER MANAGER DID HE DO YA LIKE THAT AN THEY SAID NO!!!!!!!!!!!THESE WERE MILLION DOLLARS STORES AN HE WANTED TO KNOW IF I HAD IT IN ME AN I DID.THEY WERE SHOCKED I WAS MANGING A MILLION DOLLAR STORE AT 22YEARS OLD..BLACK MEN AN WOMEN DON;T GIVE UP;REMEMBER THEY CAN DO THE JOB BUT YOU CAN DO IT EVEN BETTER IF BLACKS ARE GIVING A CHANCE.THEY WILL SHOW WHITE PEOPLE UP THAT IS WHAT HPPEN WITH ME..WHITES WERE FEARING MY SUCESS AN WANTED TO GET ME OUT OF THE COMPANY SO THEY COULD LOOK GOOD..THEY DO FEAR BLACK MEN AN WOMEN..I HAVE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES AN HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE..
anonymous, is right on the money!except the part where women out perform men in corporate america. Black women were in corporate american first at least in great numbers. Black men are viewed as the competition of white men. In fact it was my sistahs who taught me how to survive in white corporate america. My book titled “Old General Motors on the Down Low” covers the period talked about above. In a nutshell my is about Class, Race,Gender and those who wield power at General Motor. This is definatley the book they don’t want you to read. The Author/instructor of the above article is right, we need to raise our kids with dual careers in mind–because corporate america is closing its doors to Blacks. My book is available at amazon.com and Barnes & noble.
Family structure in Botswana has been disintegrating since the early nineties. Focus on the nuclear family, as well as the extended family, has been depressed and replaced mostly with the zero-couple, or single parent, household.
The 1991 census in Botswana showed one half of total recorder births to be out of wedlock. This was at a point when society was urging women to reproduce abundantly. [2]
In Western culture and the United States, the traditional approach to childbearing occurs within the union (marriage) between a man and women. This is not the norm in the Republic of Botswana. When one thinks of a family, it is natural for Americans to assume there are a dad, mom, and children.
70% of families in Botswana consist of a single parent and their children.
More than 90% of these single parent families are lead my women, where the father is absent from their lives.
Because of the lack of marriages in this country, the rate of children being born is astronomical due to men having the freedom, if you will, to be with partners that they will most likely leave after impregnating. The childbirth rate would be much lower statically if there were more marriages
Many Botswana locals practice a religion called Badimo, which is traditional religion pertaining to ancestor’s
If you don’t work for yourselves, as a Black person, you will always be discriminated against, first fired; last hired, treated with disrespect, as long as you work for caucasoids. I worked in the corporate world for 13 years and glad I’m on my own…THAT’S FREEDOM!
Notice the Black man is always in LAST position (in the picture). Black men are ALWAYS LAST in anything. The Black woman has been projected to be ahead of him (notice the picture). These caucasoids are some sneaky a*s bastards with their racism and white supremacy.
OBSERVE AND LEARN
I wish I had this advice about ten (10) years ago when I quit a job that I loved because of the constant harrassment and prejudice within the office. It was almost a constant battle everyday and just became too much to endure. Another co-worker and I sort counsel to file racial discrimination charges; basically, we were told that it is so hard to prove it is not worth the headache…and this was from a black man who has since become a Congressman.
Whites do not believe in racial discrimination and will not convict other whites. They think its in the mind of every black person.
I work in IT and been around 1000′s of technical people and rarely see blacks, yet many black men are IT majors in college. Where I work in N. California, it is a diverse area, yet all IT heads are white men and women. How is that possible? Whites aren’t even the majority out here.
It’s comforting to know that many other black men are noticing the same thing. We are underrepresented in the work force. In fact I read where we only make up 6% of the US workforce. No one can’t tell me this isn’t intentional.