Each year we send our daughters (and sons) into the workforce with pride and glee. Although that first job is a great induction to independence, compensation, and adulting – it can also be a young person’s first brush with sexual harassment, discrimination, and crass language and actions. I have 4 nieces and 2 nephews in […]
Until a few years ago, I knew nothing about transgender people. Then one night in my law school class a student told a story about going to the veteran’s hall to meet some of his buddies he had served in the military with. They were sitting around talking and giving each other shit when a […]
“Every mentorship has its ebbs and flows. When there isn’t a Goldilocks amount of work to do — Mentees often become bored in the program.” – Phidelia Johnson All of us should occasionally ask ourselves whether we are managing our careers or our careers are managing us. The modern workplace is changing rapidly – thanks […]
It boggles my mind how common sense is not so common these days. So-called experts and leaders, like me, can write articles, hosts podcasts, author books, and give speeches to hiring managers and human resources professionals all over the country, offering advice and best practices regarding talent development and management and yet it seems it’s fallen […]
The story I am about to share with you happened 20 years ago and looking back on it, I was wrong – handled it wrong. I was on the wrong side of history and honestly, I am embarrassed about it. Here’s what happened. The company I worked for had an employee who was a cross-dresser […]
The game keeps changing on us, minorities. We asked to be hired and they (the gatekeepers and decision makers) hired us but then they gave us the grunt work, the manual labor, the thankless jobs in the worst conditions. We demanded more and better – and so they gave it to us – or we […]
“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” There are dimensions of diversity based in life experiences. These include such things as where you went to school, the languages you have learned over time and the skills you have gained during your career. Capturing all dimensions brings to the workplace […]
It has been 54 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson issued executive order 11246, requiring government contractors and subcontractors to implement affirmative action policies to expand job opportunities for minorities. The order was amended in 1967 to include women. Although there are millions of highly-educated, intelligent, successful and independent women in United States, women remain […]
“Are You a Sheep? No, You’re a Dragon…So Go Be a Dragon!” That’s a powerful quote from one strong female to another in the blockbuster TV hit “Game of Thrones.” In the process of re-watching the series I’ve admired the evolution of the female characters from stereotypical victims to strong leaders in their own right. […]
If you don’t pay all employees equal pay for equal work, you can violate: Title VII The Equal Pay Act State employment discrimination laws State equal pay laws Salary History laws Pay Equity is also a huge problem. Pew Research in 2016 determined: White and Asian men earn the most 100%+ Asian women 87% White […]
Ethics and leadership are closely aligned and in my opinion, difficult if not impossible to separate. You can’t have strong, positive leadership without ethics. And you can’t have a robust, ethical culture without strong leadership that endorse and lives ethical values. If ethics and leadership are entwined how do you become an ethical leader? And […]
You know your Black History Month is going to crap when elected officials are wearing blackface paint, teachers are telling kids to play slave plantation games, high end fashion designers are using racists symbols and imagery, and a tween is shot 28 times while asleep in his car at a Taco Bell. Maybe you don’t […]
A few years ago Google released an internal study that said there was no correlation that workers with four-year degree equates to successful employees. More recently, Elon Musk (The Tesla and SpaceX innovator) has said he doesn’t care if you have a degree or not. Employers – recruiters and hiring teams – have been lamenting […]
I quit my in December of 2018. Well, technically I retired, but it is still quitting. After 40 years of learning and growing within the context of my job, I am choosing to do that on my own now. On my own schedule, and choosing which assignments I want to do, and when I will […]
Being Black. Where do I begin? When your parents got together and later found out they were pregnant the first thing they knew about you is your ethnicity. They knew, based on their racial background, that you were going to be black, white, brown, olive or whatever the hell else skin color combination is out […]