Showing posts with label Black women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black women. Show all posts
Thursday, August 1, 2019
xoNecole's ElevateHer Crawl is coming this weekend!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Workplace Threat
"Maybe it's just me, but I thought that working would be different than it is," said Juna.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, I don't know. I thought it would be fun and stuff but people are mean."
Simply put by Juna, and 100% accurate.
Ahh, the 20 something-year-old in the workplace. She is fresh out of school, cute, qualified, energetic, and ready to take on the world. So, imagine her shock and dismay when she is welcomed by hating co-workers, usually older and more qualified women, that are totally trying to throw an ax in her climb up the corporate latter. I find that amongst my working gals, I have had this conversation like 1000 times!
Juna works in a lab. I had to laugh. There are scientist haters? My friend Jamaica works in policy, and her co-worker, an older woman, made her cry by trying to pin some bull on her she had nothing to do with. Luckily, she was able to provide her boss with a detailed email stream to prove her innocence. And poor Tasia. She is always being confronted with trash on the job, and of course, she is in publishing.
I don't get it. Why are these women hating on my adorable buddies when they aren't even qualified to take their positions? I mean, if I am entry-level, why is the boss's boss purposely trying to get me fired? As women, particularly Black women in the workplace, shouldn't we have each other's backs? According to another pal of mine, the answer is no.
The gist goes a little like this: the Black women who have been there longer know that the company has a quota. So there is literally not enough room for the both of you. So, from your first day behind your desk, you are fighting not to get the pink slip, because technically, somebody has to go.
It's sad that this is the case. But with drive and motivation, my young friends press forward. However, I think that the worst part about this situation is that they will eventually have to mutate into the mega bitches that they are now working for to keep the job that they were once so enthusiastic about getting.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, I don't know. I thought it would be fun and stuff but people are mean."
Simply put by Juna, and 100% accurate.
Ahh, the 20 something-year-old in the workplace. She is fresh out of school, cute, qualified, energetic, and ready to take on the world. So, imagine her shock and dismay when she is welcomed by hating co-workers, usually older and more qualified women, that are totally trying to throw an ax in her climb up the corporate latter. I find that amongst my working gals, I have had this conversation like 1000 times!
Juna works in a lab. I had to laugh. There are scientist haters? My friend Jamaica works in policy, and her co-worker, an older woman, made her cry by trying to pin some bull on her she had nothing to do with. Luckily, she was able to provide her boss with a detailed email stream to prove her innocence. And poor Tasia. She is always being confronted with trash on the job, and of course, she is in publishing.
I don't get it. Why are these women hating on my adorable buddies when they aren't even qualified to take their positions? I mean, if I am entry-level, why is the boss's boss purposely trying to get me fired? As women, particularly Black women in the workplace, shouldn't we have each other's backs? According to another pal of mine, the answer is no.
The gist goes a little like this: the Black women who have been there longer know that the company has a quota. So there is literally not enough room for the both of you. So, from your first day behind your desk, you are fighting not to get the pink slip, because technically, somebody has to go.
It's sad that this is the case. But with drive and motivation, my young friends press forward. However, I think that the worst part about this situation is that they will eventually have to mutate into the mega bitches that they are now working for to keep the job that they were once so enthusiastic about getting.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Distant Conversation
Last weekend my distant family came into town to celebrate my cousins' graduating from school; one from Vet school and another from undergrad.
As usual, scholars and alcohol are a recipe for deep discussion. The topic: the issue with Black dating. Now mind you when we say "Black dating" we really mean "Black women" because we are always the issue, right? To my surprise, I didn't pass out during the discussion. After my last convo on a similar topic, I told myself that I would die if I had to listen to educated Black men blame me for having to get an education because of their absence to support myself, like I wanted to get almost $100,000 worth of student loans!
Well, we touched on a lot of things, but what stands out in my mind is the idea of the leader. The brothas I spoke with, two of them not being relatives, talked about how they had visited Mississippi and LOVED how the women were submissive. But allow me to define submissive in their eyes: willing to follow them while they "lead." Call me a critical thinker, but that translated to me as "willing to do what they said." Listening to them talk about this rare breed of Southern women who make you grits without being asked and White women who "have your back," I could not help but wonder if my female ancestors knew they were breaking free from the plantation just for me to be expected to play Mammie to our men?!
But it seems that my idea of "Mammiedum" is their idea of being "held down" and of me "playing my position." Out of all that was said, I am sure about one thing: I am way too much of a Feminist for discussions of this magnitude.
As usual, scholars and alcohol are a recipe for deep discussion. The topic: the issue with Black dating. Now mind you when we say "Black dating" we really mean "Black women" because we are always the issue, right? To my surprise, I didn't pass out during the discussion. After my last convo on a similar topic, I told myself that I would die if I had to listen to educated Black men blame me for having to get an education because of their absence to support myself, like I wanted to get almost $100,000 worth of student loans!
Well, we touched on a lot of things, but what stands out in my mind is the idea of the leader. The brothas I spoke with, two of them not being relatives, talked about how they had visited Mississippi and LOVED how the women were submissive. But allow me to define submissive in their eyes: willing to follow them while they "lead." Call me a critical thinker, but that translated to me as "willing to do what they said." Listening to them talk about this rare breed of Southern women who make you grits without being asked and White women who "have your back," I could not help but wonder if my female ancestors knew they were breaking free from the plantation just for me to be expected to play Mammie to our men?!
But it seems that my idea of "Mammiedum" is their idea of being "held down" and of me "playing my position." Out of all that was said, I am sure about one thing: I am way too much of a Feminist for discussions of this magnitude.
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