My experience during my career has been similar to many Black people in corporate or startup settings, we are often met with a lot of microaggressions and in fear of repercussions for speaking out. We're taught to keep our head down and just get on with the work. Reminds me of what Laura Ingraham said to Lebron James (Shut up and Dribble).
I’m going to tell you about two incidents. First is the treatment by a manager. All of my minor mistakes were highlighted and I wasn’t coached or praised during this time. I was part of a team of two, me, a Black male and my coworker, a White male. He was met with a lot of praise and encouragement. This wasn’t new to me, I just sat down and got on with my work and prayed that I wouldn’t have to deal with microaggressions from this manager on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, this situation couldn’t be avoided and ended up with me raising a grievance to HR. The experience wasn’t great as I felt it wasn’t taken seriously (it wasn’t investigated) and I had come across as a trouble maker. Mediation was done but nothing improved, and I had to work with this manager for another year or so.
Second, was the treatment by security staff at the front door to the office. It was okay at first but it became often all of a sudden, I was being stopped at the door for my pass to be checked. This felt targeted as I would often see my white colleagues walk past with no issues. This situation reiterated the lie that my face doesn’t fit in a corporate setting. While this situation was hurtful, I had felt I was fully supported by the HR team.
Amongst the clear institutional racism and bias, you had at times a very toxic work environment. Over the years, teams became very clique and favoritism was a tool often used for promotions and high favor.
Also, pay was not reviewed correctly. In my experience, I was left under paid for 3 years.
