by Solange Lopes | May 6, 2014 | Career
Happy Tuesday! Day 2 of this week already, and we’re still on our professional best…
As Mother’s Day is fast approaching, many a professional mom and corporate sister are certainly thinking about what it means to be a minority, a woman, and a mom at work…that is, if you even have time to think! So we at The Corporate Sister, want to take some time this week to recognize the continuous struggles and successes of minority women and moms at work, by highlighting some of the many stories around us.
Take Alesha for instance. Alesha has two young children under the age of 5, and works full-time as a banking branch manager. Alesha is an African-American mom, wife and professional.
This morning, as every morning, Alesha got the kids ready, dropped one off at daycare and the other at pre-school. Upon arriving at work, she stepped onto a hostile interaction between one of her team members and an angry customer. As she attempted to intervene, the customer, who also happens to be Caucasian male, rudely requested to speak to the manager in charge.
As she calmly replied that she was the manager in charge, he gave her the most incredulous look, turned around and said “Well, then, no wonder this place is terrible! Don’t they train you to do your job?”
After the irate customer left, Alesha went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet seat and just buried her face in her hands. This was not the first negative customer experience she’s ever had, and would certainly not be the last. So why was she so angry? All she could hear in her clouded mind were the words “Black”, “female” and “incompetent”. Despite all her experience, potential and ability, she was constantly reminded that as a minority woman and mom at work, she may just never be enough! As she lifted her eyes and looked up at her watch, she noticed it was only 9am. And she had to call the pediatrician to reschedule the little one’s appointment, since an impromptu meeting had come up at work this afternoon.
How many more of us go through similar situations at work, trying to justify our very presence? How many more wonder if after all, being a minority, a woman and a mom is just too much? Yet we continuously strive for better…
Are you a woman, minority and mom at work? If so, would you like to share your experience?
by Solange Lopes | May 5, 2014 | Career
meetup.com
Yes it is Cinco de Mayo, and it’s exactly why you shouldn’t walk around the office happily singing “Happy Cinco de Mayo!”
And since many of us are already planning to get together after work for drinks in commemoration of Cinco de Mayo, let’s just quickly point out, in the spirit of cultural awareness (and out of respect for those of us who are actually from Mexico), that Cinco de Mayo is neither the Independence Day holiday in Mexico, nor a drinking holiday anywhere else than in the US.
Actually, Cinco de Mayo is a holiday meant to commemorate Mexico’s victory during the Battle of Puebla against the French. So no offense to the tequila aficionados, it was never the National Tequila holiday.
So today, before any of us decides to give a (well-meaning) hug to our Hispanic co-workers or openly share our plans to experience the “real” Cinco de Mayo in Mexico, let’s choose to dip into our cultural awareness reserves…
And just because we are a litte bit more culturally aware in the office, it’s worth a couple of drinks between co-workers…
The Corporate Sister
by Solange Lopes | May 5, 2014 | Career |
Ralph Lauren Cap-Sleeve Twisted Sheath Dress – macys.com – $89.98
Hello Again Corporate fashionistas…
For our lunch break today, we are showcasing the great Macy’s Values Collection which are always well-priced and well-picked, with this Ralph Lauren cap-sleeve twisted sheath dress. Needless to day, I absolutely love the twisted side knot detail that not only gives this elegant sheath dress an extra oomph factor, but also cinches your waist. And really, who wouldn’t want a sleek silhouette, especially after that copious lunch meal?
The dress comes in purple, green, red and blue. However, I prefer the royal blue hue, which is not only rarer, but also tends to be more conservative and elegant. Priced at $89.98, this dress is a wardrobe MUST!
Seen a great, work-appropriate fashion piece you’d like to share? Please post a comment below, or email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | May 5, 2014 | Career
Happy Monday!
Hope everyone had a great week-end and is starting the first work week of May in good spirits…or barely open eyes, we know, it’s a process…Yet new day, new start, right?
As corporate sisters and minority women at work, this couldn’t hold truer. Being under-represented at work, suffering from a serious yet silenced identity crisis both within ourselves and our professional environments, every day for the professional, ambitious corporate sister is a new start, and a constant push against perceptions. Perceptions that Black and minority women are unsophisticated, inarticulate and aggressive. Perceptions that we may not possess the necessary professional qualifications. Perceptions, perceptions, perceptions…
And as much as we would like to blame society, the boss, or just plain everyone else around for the challenging professional cards we were dealt, it only takes one look around to realize that more has to be done to turn the situation around. Just turn on the television on Sunday night and watch the Real Housewives of Atlanta feed these same negative perceptions…Yes, RHOA is certainly not the only housewives show out there, yet it is one more negative perception magnet we did not exactly need…
In my career in the Big Corporate, I’ve felt at times that resisting and pushing against the barriers of perception is unavoidable, although not necessarily yielding the positive results we’d expect. That working hard would hardly prove enough. That only the right cosmic mix of unbiased, positive professional environments, combined with just the right mentoring influences, could propel some of us to the top. That if we keep pushing and striving and working, that we might also stand a chance…
Except that we no longer just merely want to stand a chance, or get a shot at success. In an era where women are reclaiming and owing their power, where we are now understanding that both our voices and contributions are valuable (and have always been), we want MORE!
More than a chance or incidental stab at success…More than a dim probability of success reserved for the chosen few.
We simply want to earn what we work for, perceptions or no perceptions!
Do you think it’s too much to ask for?
by Solange Lopes | May 4, 2014 | Career |
News Round-up – awomansworthonline.com
Happy Sunday!
Hope everyone is enjoying their first week of May, what with the nice weather finally showing up…It’s Sunday, and as we’re praising the Lord, relaxing, (and trying not to think about Monday), this is also a quick round-up of the news that made us smile, think or even tear up a bit this week:
- As a nice follow-up to the Thrive conference this past week in New York, The HuffPost asks us, and rightfully so, “Why Just Survive at Work… Thrive at Work?”;
- For all of us social media enthusiasts (or shall I say addicts, hmmmm), Black Enterprise teaches millenials how they can leverage social media popularity for career wins;
- We loved loved this column in Essence by K. Neycha Herford about transcending mediocrity and “turning up” for real;
- This New York Times confirms what many of us were sometimes scared of recognizing, that pay gap is because of gender, not jobs:
- For the commuters among us, Refinery29 compiled a nice list of 12 commuter staples that will make us reconsider our own commutes;
- Don’t like office politics? Well, the Daily Muse tells you why avoiding office politics could hurt you more than you think;
- We enjoyed this Forbes Woman article about how for working women, focusing on beauty erodes our self-confidence;
- Just in time for Mother’s Day next week, The Huff Post Black Voices makes a nice list of 14 Mother’s Day Presents that Are Better than Flowers;
- For all the professional naturalistas like myself, Naturallycurly.com has a nice list of the top 10 naturally curly hairstyles for work (and we loved every single one of them);
- Last but not least, our own The Corporate Sister is ready for summer with our tips and tricks to dress for warmer weather at work.
Hope you enjoy these articles, have a relaxing day and a great start of your week!
Much love, peace, and thanks for all your continued support of our work and cause!
The Corporate Sister.
