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.