Black-woman-at-work- madamenoire.com
Happy Wednesday!
We’ve heard a ton about corporate feminism lately. In between piercing the glass ceiling, empowering women, reducing the gender pay gap, not to mention coming to terms with Jill Abramson’s alleged New York Times ousting and the end of the Barbara Walters’ era, we’ve had much to chew on…And we’re still chewing…
Yet when it comes to corporate feminism/activism/however you may want to call it, what we have seen most of lately, is what I would call a big “look up”movement. As protagonists (or mere spectators) of the “Corporate Gender Evolutionism” theory (please excuse the growing sarcasm, it’s still early here), we’ve all had the pleasure to look up to great symbols of feminine corporate success. Like the Arianna Huffington’s, Lean In’s Sheryl Sanders, not to mention the hugely influential Oprahs of this world…
Yet, as the rest of the corporate sisters like myself and so many others are straining our underpaid necks in sheer admiration, looking up at these great yet oh so scarce symbols of corporate success, many (if not most) of us are still left wondering about our own corporate fates. After the fanfare of all the inspiring women’s conferences, after all the alleged goodwill of all the corporate sponsors in attendance, what’s the follow-up on all the good initiatives, words of advice and inspirational speeches? And please, please, how about making the membership to women’s leadership association (some of us may not be able to sacrifice our daycare budget just yet)?
How about proactively working to change the tone at the top, not just in terms of corporate sponsorships and endorsements, but of formal commitment of corporate leaders to look into and resolve the issues affecting women at work? How about creating steering committees not just composed of the leadership and successful women, but also of everyday, ordinary women facing everyday, seemingly ordinary challenges that are preventing them from rising to their potential? How about concretely discussing child care opportunities (or the lack thereof), birth control options? While these are certainly not novelty ideas or concepts, they are still sorely lacking from the corporate landscape, and sorely lacking from the corporate experience of the main actors of this game, us!
How about reaching down to the nitty-gritty, the unglamorous, the ordinary reality of women at work? Maybe, only maybe, it’s time to turn the projectors down towards the reality of the corporate trenches for many women, including and especially minority women, to address the real issues that are plaguing us and keeping us from success…
Maybe?
The Corporate Sister.
