It’s May 2017, and love is in the air. Rachel Linsay, a 32-year-old African-American female attorney from Texas is on the hunt for love, and what better place to find it than The Bachelorette. It soon became obvious to the 5.7 million viewers that tuned in to watch the show that Linsay would have to …
Why you can’t be reverse racist: structural oppression Read More »
Picture yourself at a staff party. You’re surrounded by colleagues who are dancing and chatting. You have just topped up your G&T when a member of your circle brings up the topic of race. It’s instantly awkward. But why? A good question to ask yourself at this point is, who is part of this conversation? …
Privilege, what is privilege? Where does privilege come from? How does it formulate and how does one use it? Prof. Michael Kimmel famously said, “privilege is invisible to those who have it”. In his 2009 paper, J.Beal described privilege as unearned advantages you have that others don’t have. Due to our identity and how these identities …
Hi Hustle Crew! I want to develop some new habits in my life to help me engage more with my privilege and have more empathy for folks from different backgrounds who could be facing structural oppression that I do not experience myself. Is there one new habit or activity you can suggest I start with? …
🗣 You Ask: Can you suggest an activity/habit to help me engage with my privilege? Read More »
In order to empathise with the lived experiences of others we need to improve our understanding of intersectionality. In 2017, YW Boston released an article entitled, ‘What is intersectionality, and what does it have to do with me?’ describing intersectionality as “a framework for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of …
I’m the only Black woman in my company and I’m disheartened to see no response from the company or anyone in a leadership position about the Black Lives Matter movement. How can I hold them accountable to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace without putting myself in a position where I could be seen as …
Maternal Bias Maternal bias starts early: as soon as a woman gets engaged, the assumption is made that she is going to want to start having children. Even the women who have decided against having children are penalized, as the assumption has already been made. All genders fall into bias traps, but maternal bias towards women …
How do white people make sure that the work they are creating is truly representative without giving Black people more work to do? I have had this challenge before and created a research group with Black colleagues but it felt like (a) I was giving them the work to do to tell me that I …
🗣 You Ask: As a white person, how do I create change without overstepping? Read More »
Affinity Bias Affinity bias means that we prefer people like us and dislike people who are not like us. Studies show this impacts who mentors choose as their mentees and even determines how much time hiring managers give to candidates. It’s a heuristic that’s persisted in a world where we are plagued by decisions. If …
I’m a straight, white man asking myself questions like, “am I doing my best? Have I been part of overt racism? Why isn’t my company more diverse?” I’m also reflecting on what I am doing already e.g. existing efforts I make to help Black professionals and other underrepresented people in our industry. That said, I …
🗣 You Ask: How can I help as a straight, white man? Read More »