“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

—Robertson Davies

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Every culture has career advice passed through the generations. In the Black community, we were taught that we had to know twice as much to go half as far. It was a clear message that we need to outperform White people in every regard to have a chance at a fraction of their success. I've heard from my LatinX friends that they were advised as well to keep their head down and work harder than everyone else. My Asian friends felt pressured from an early age to aspire to attend top-tier universities as a means to acquire wealth and success as there was no other way. There's clearly a pattern of belief that people of color are disadvantaged from the start and must somehow overcompensate to have a chance at success. It certainly helps to have these pearls of wisdom from our loving parents who only want the best for us. Without it, who knows where we would be? So, many of us did exactly what we were told, and, in some respects for a small minority, it paid off as a component of an overall strategy. However, the majority of minorities in corporate America continue to face insurmountable barriers, despite the advice. Research from Statista.com shares, “Out of 500 current Fortune 500 CEOs, just five are Black while 466 are White.” They continue with the facts:

Asian-American CEOs have risen slowly over the last two decades, going from 1.8 percent in 2000 to 2.4 percent in 2020. Hispanic CEOs have seen a greater rise since 2000, going from 1 percent to 3.4 percent in 2020.

The rise in female CEOs has been perhaps the most significant over the last two decades. With just two women as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in 2000, there are now 37 women in CEO positions as of August 2020—a leap of over 18 times.

Studies cited by The Wall Street Journal show how Black, Asian, and Hispanic executives face more obstacles when navigating the leadership pipeline of various Fortune 500 companies. Overall, surveys show that minority employees at these companies see obstacles like fewer opportunities for advancement, smaller rates of retention, and tougher recruitment barriers.

When we look at general diversity in the labor market as a whole, Zippia.com reports, “When broken down by race and ethnicity, Whites make up the majority of the workforce.” They continue:

Women make up more than half of the United States' labor force. According to the U.S. Census, women represent 58.3 Percent of the U.S. workforce, while men represent 41.7 Percent.

Considering these statistics there's no wonder that the default assumption is that if you are a member of historically marginalized groups, that you have achieved less success than White counterparts. Couple this with unconscious bias, and you'll find that for those minorities that have broken through the status quo are on the receiving end of unconscious demotions—the habit of assuming that someone holds a lower position or career status than they actually do based on race, ethnicity, gender, or ability.

Consider stepping into a business meeting, turning to the youngest looking woman in the room, and requesting that she fetch your coffee. When she declines, explains that she is the newly hired director of engineering, and recommends that you fetch your own coffee, you are probably embarrassed as a result. But consider how she must feel. She was instantly demoted to a lower position purely on the fact that she is a woman with a youthful appearance, perhaps mistaken for an intern. Saying nothing continues to perpetuate and condone inequality. Over time, these consistent snap judgments can have a negative effect on one's psyche and signal that they don't belong in the career they occupy. When this happens once in a while, it's easier to dismiss, but having to correct people time and again can be exhausting. This instance is more commonplace than one may think, and it can happen to any member of historically marginalized groups even at the most senior levels. A post from Madamenoire.com shares, “Black women who have risen through the professional ranks are often mistaken for assistants or people in much lower positions, and time has shown no one, no matter their level of achievement, is immune.” Successful investment firm executive Mellody Hobson often tells of an incident that happened about a decade ago when then-aspiring senator Harold Ford asked her to make some media connections for him. When she and Ford showed up at the offices of a major NYC media company, they announced to the receptionist that they were there for the lunch, a lunch Hobson had organized. The receptionist mistook them for servicers hired for the lunch and asked them where their uniforms were. The post goes on to say, “In my research, I've found that Black women are unconsciously demoted to even lower positions than White women,” explained Dr. Suzanne Wertheim, researcher and founder of Worthwhile Research & Consulting. “For example, while White female doctors were mistaken for nurses, a Black female doctor was mistaken for an orderly. And while White female lawyers were mistaken for legal secretaries, Black female lawyers were mistaken for criminal defendants.”

Interrupting these patterns means creating new cognitive habits and challenging assumptions about others. Rather than assume that an individual is part of the wait staff, an intern, or janitor, simply ask in a polite nonjudgmental tone, “So what do you do here?” or introduce yourself first, and then pose the question. Champions of inclusion rethink images of what accomplishment looks like, purposefully test assumptions, and step in as a buffer to correct the error when it happens in our presence. I am of the mindset “Better safe than sorry.” Why not elevate the status of another? An individual just may become inspired to rise to the elevation. Imagine if we did that more often!

Actions

Action Accelerators

• Monster.ca: “How to Reduce Stereotyping in The Workplace,” by Mark Swartz: www.monster.ca/career-advice/article/overcoming-workplace-stereotyping
• FastCompany.com: “The Common Habit that Undermines Company Diversity Efforts,” by Dr. Suzanne Wertheim: www.fastcompany.com/3060336/the-common-habit-that-undermines-organizations-diversity-efforts
• YouTube.com: Implicit Bias - How We Hold Women Back, Maureen Fitzgerald, TEDxSFU: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM1MBSczyzI&t=868s
• YouTube.com: It's About Time We Challenge Our Unconscious Biases, Juliette Powell, TEDxStLouisWomen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=thkmVv54e6M
• YouTube.com: 3 Design Principles to Help us Overcome Everyday Bias, Thaniya Keereepart, TEDxPortland: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6dstCUWsFY&t=104s

Sources Cited