"As a professional photographer for twenty years, on photo-shoots, editors and clients walk right past me “looking for the photographer”. They assume because I am a woman, I'm the makeup artist.
"
"I bring up our lack of diversity on our team again and again - review after review with my manager - and no change. After announcing I was leaving my manager was shocked and repeatedly asked why I was leaving if I was doing great and had been given a raise. Why? Lack of diversity."
"English is my second language. I am an educator. I have been the Equity Committee’s chair for six years in my school. During this time, four other people have taken intermittently the co-chair position. All of them assumed that I am uncomfortable taking notes during meetings.
"
"I was told I was not collaborative and a good “culture fit” when I walked in front of my male co-presenter on stage to better engage with an audience of 150 people."
"As an executive pursuing an Ivy League MBA I mentioned to the founder/CEO that I was very excited to be graduating soon - he asked if I was getting my GED."
"Sitting amongst my white colleagues — a white Sales Director looked in my eyes while walking into a conference room for a meeting and offered $100 to the person who would pull him out of the meeting in 10 min."
I was talking to my manager who was in her early 30s about wanting a raise. She mentioned a female acquaintance we both shared and said "Well, look at her. She met her husband and he makes six figures, so she's fine now."
"Instead of confronting me or my manager with direct feedback, my coworker waited to provide negative feedback in my review. Why can't people be upfront and communicate throughout the day/week/month/year?
"
"A white male client said that my English is better than my father's. Like it's a competition. Like he had the power to judge me when he only knows one language. Knowing English, or how advance your English speaking skills are, is not a measure of intelligence."
"My manager who knew about my pre-existing mental health struggles - during the pandemic - during BLM - protests told me she wishes I would just go back to "normal".
"In college, I received a service award for my inner city work. During the award presentation, the presenter kept saying how nice it was when affluent white students help poor children of color. I was never affluent, and those 'poor children' helped me more than I did them.
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"We posted hurtful creative — photos of 'sunburnt' employees to promote a picnic themed happy hour. I was speaking up for POC employees that had come to me that weren't represented in the photos."
"I applied for a job at a famous cafe. After chatting with the manager, I was sent to the basement to meet the owner. There I found a white man sitting alone. He asked if I had waitressing experience (no). Then he looked over my body, up and down very slowly, and said That's OK."
"I'm judged for a role based on years experience. What about quality of experience or depth of experience? Can you guarantee that 'years' of experience leads to better hires? No."
"I was employed as an executive for a Fortune 250 company and pursuing an Ivy League MBA. At a company event I mentioned to the founder / CEO that I was very excited to be graduating soon...he asked if I was getting my GED."
"My company-wide accomplished projects are credited to others when the majority of the hard work and management was done by me. They get the promotions because their fast-talking charm are heard by their exec peers and I’m not in that circle - nor are other non white people."
"I was called into HR because I was too "outspoken" and "aggressive" in my leadership. I was then told that they "understood" that it was a cultural thing and that I just had to work at it. My leadership style at the time was no different than that of my white male counterpart."
"When I was hired as an Assoc. Director (AD) one colleague on my team was at a Supervisor level and the other was a Planner. In 2 years the Supervisor became a SVP and in 3 years the Planner became a VP. Although my reviews are stellar crazy how after 5 years, I’m still an AD."
"After I returned from a vacation I was told by a white male that he needs to get his wife a job like I have because then they could take vacations too. He then said, "Just kidding. We still have kids at home and don't want to neglect them." (I had 3 young children.)"
"I use my nickname on my resume which makes it hard to infer my gender. Recruiters would be noticeable disappointed when they would realize I was a woman and their tone would change. When recruiters reacted like that I know I wouldn't get a second call."
"I was an early employee at a startup. When investors came to the office - I and my other female coworker were asked to leave the office and wait in the common area of the co-working space until the investors left."
"I was told 'You're not who I hired' to my face, simply because I dared to question processes put in place that didn't help our clients but further confuse them."
"As a young female producer I needed to bring an older male producer into a conversation with a union representative in order to have enough credibility to have the conversation we needed to have — despite being the lead producer on the project."
"In response to what I described as multiple incidents of belligerent and micro-aggressive behavior - a member of senior mgmt explained the employee's behavior as maybe being the result of 'personality' differences. The comment felt marginalizing, paternalistic, and insulting."
"When I was a Junior Account Manager I was talked down to by another co-worker on how a production was going that I had little to do with. She questioned my competency and work ethic in an aggressive way."
"I was told 'You're not who I hired' to my face, simply because I dared to question processes put in place that didn't help our clients but further confuse them."
My joints were swollen and incredibly painful due to my autoimmune disease. I had an important session so I pushed myself to get to work. When I explained this to my supervisor her response was “you don’t look sick.”
"I was told by my supervisor that I was too aggressive and too strong in expressing my opinion and advocating for my staff. I believe my behavior was judged based on the fact that I was a woman. No male manager was ever told this."
"My white colleagues constantly asked me if I was "good with budgets". There were 6 other Account Executives, but all the "budget" questions came to me, the only Asian Account Executive at the company."
"You chose to not acknowledge my contribution to the success of one of our biggest brands and proceeded to overlook me for a promotion...more than once."
"The firm removed me from a long-term corporate client and placed me with a nonprofit one solely to present a 'Black face' after another police killing."
"I ran a significant and profitable business unit as an out gay man and despite acting as a VP - the company always passed me over for a VP title. Later it asked me to be the executive leader for the Pride group despite me not being an executive due to the 100% promotion refusal."
My manager who knew about my pre-existing mental health struggles - during the pandemic - during BLM - protests told me she wishes I would just go back to 'normal'.
"The firm removed me from a long-term corporate client and placed me with a nonprofit one solely to present a “Black face” after another police killing of an unarmed Black man. I was the only Black person on the team."
"I voiced disagreement or pointed out potential issues with ideas in team meetings. I was told I was being negative and aggressive. One particular coworker would cry whenever I gave constructive feedback on their work or performance. I was essentially asked to smile in meetings."
"When I interviewed for a new position managing a physician practice the doctor insisted on interviewing me himself. He asked me about my family life (was I married — did I have children — etc) and persisted even after I told him that he legally couldn’t ask me those questions."
"My mom (who was visiting) lovingly cooked some food to share with my team and my manager said that since she has amazing cooking skills she should live rent-free in a cabin on his property and cook for him on a daily basis. He then made fun of her accent."
"When I was asked to write a blog post for the diversity and inclusion blog about myself and the committee I founded and my story was completely white-washed and edited to be more “corporate”.
"My colleagues tell me that I don't have any commitments at home and therefore have the ability to stay late at work to pick up the slack from others. It hurts because I didn't choose not to have children - it's how life turned out for me.
"
"My boss grabbed my breast at a holiday party and said 'Sorry! I just had to do it!' There was alcohol involved and they conveniently forgot that it happened. I confided in a coworker who told me I must be mistaken. The instinct was to protect the harasser instead of the harassed."
"I’m perceived as younger than I am with the associated assumptions. That I don’t have first hand experience to validate my expertise in my career role. And that my age makes me less qualified to do my job.
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"Despite a record of strong performance in my role, I was pushed out to accommodate a younger white man whose job was impacted due to COVID—this despite the fact that he had none of the qualifications required to perform in my role."
Upon receiving a counter offer from my company after tendering my resignation — my supervisor noted to me during the salary negotiations to remain at the firm “aren’t you retiring soon anyways?”
"I was telling my coworkers about the use of electronics equipment - that I have experience with from use in the past - and the manager said to one of the employees that he does not think I have used such equipment because how could I have afforded it being black."
"When you use the expression “that’s gay” to describe a negative situation — experience or thing — because I identify as gay and therefore you were saying I am less than or you see me in a negative."
"A supervisor on my job told me "they're never going to give you the Assistant Principal job - you're not married and that makes them think your life isn't settled. Find a more mature man and get that part of your life together, and watch how God moves your career.
"
"I lost a noticeable amount of weight due to an immunosuppressant medication I started while on medical leave. When I returned to work a co-worker said “I wish I had something that would make me lose weight”
"You chose to not put me on a sports brand because of my gender despite the knowledge of my athletic background and my past career experience working on a major sporting event."
"My Superiors regularly put me in work having to with African American Affairs not because they thought I was the right fit or because they felt I was well prepared but because I was black. Whats worse is that they looked to have me confirm their biases about black people."
"During a salary negotiation for an offer I was going to accept the recruiter tells me I'm 'greedy' for not taking a salary that is less than what I made at the time."
"My manager told me that he didn't understand why I would want a pay raise (to bring me in line with my performance and experience) because my husband worked...so why would I need more money?
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"I was blind-sided with feedback from a team that withheld thoughts on ways of working for weeks. Instead of speaking to me directly they went over and around to share their thoughts when I've always had an open door policy. Is it my presence or something deeper that blocked a 1:1?"
"When I was 19, I worked at a residential facility for teens, mostly boys. A middle-aged, male colleague occasionally drove me home. During one ride, he said, You really should wear looser pants to work. I'm sure your body is distracting to the boys. Who knows what they'll do."
"I told my boss that I had to take short term disability to recover from surgery. On my last day in the office as we were reviewing my handoff document for coverage he said, "You don't even look sick." And he wondered why I didn't feel like I could confide in him."
"I had a meeting with my boss where she announced a new hire. My white supervisor asked "what's her heritage and ethnic background" because the email that the new hire wrote was written "so eloquently". The new hire was black."
"It's target is patients of color. I've seen unnecessary interventions carried out for training purposes. Assumptions being made based on stereotypes which easily leads to substandard care and I see how demanding patients are either tolerated or dismissed based on skin color."
Post my 30th birthday party I returned to work the coming Monday with the same hair-do. A creative director interrupted me in the meeting and said "You look like a million bucks. You could easily work for — what is that Arab Middle-eastern news channel? Ahh — Al Jazeera".
"My new manager told me that he saw my role as "administrative" - scheduling meetings, coordinating social engagements and stocking supplies. At the time I was leading Operations for a $5B business. After I left for another role he requested a male backfill."
"I am a redhead. As a manager I didn't have negative perform reviews - meet all goals - brought in over $500,000 in revenue. Out of the blue I was told that I was being demoted. The reason: I am too emotional. I show my emotions and I don't always have a smile on my face."
"I was told I was not collaborative and a good “culture fit” when I walked in front of my male co-presenter on stage to better engage with an audience of 150 people.
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"Multiple colleagues have noted that my capability and intelligence surprised them because of my bubbly and kind demeanor. My demeanor allows me to be more successful and make more intelligent decisions. It's disappointing that I'm being judged negatively for it."
"In my yearly pay review I was not given any technical feedback as a web developer. Instead I got told that I came across too serious and grumpy because I didn't smile enough and heavily implied that it had an impact on the sort of projects that I got resourced for."
"A supervisor reprimanded me for not stating something to a client in a gentler and softer way which was expected since I am a woman. I had to inform a client in a professional yet firm way that something they wished to be done could not be done."
"One time during a work mixer I was introducing myself to a few clients in the advertising industry. Someone made a comment which implied that I worked closely with the few POC at the company."
"I told my supervisor I was being treated for depression to explain the changes in my demeanor at work and elicit his support. A few months later, I called out sick. When I returned to work, he said with a sneer, Were you really sick? Or was it just your 'depression'?
"
"My male CEO continually and frequently would disagree with me before finishing a sentence as my experience wasn't as valid as his. He told me this in a 121."
"A white male colleague told me after he found out I was pregnant that "I'm so happy for you! When you told me before that you didn't plan to have kids I was so sad for you."
"When in meetings when I — or any other woman in leadership —disagreed with anything or it was thought that we might — the head of the company would tell our staff that "the claws were coming out". It helped to foster a hostile environment."
"During a salary negotiation for an offer I was going to accept the recruiter tells me I'm 'greedy' for not taking a salary that is less than what I made at the time. But then offered a white male friend of mine a higher salary for a role I would have been supervising."
"I worked in a small ad agency with some Ad tech Properties. I was an Account Executive coming into a new role. I stepped away to grab another executive. I was told that someone had made a comment about being the hood kid from Compton."
"Every time we have a pitch meeting where there is an Asian person in their side - I get pulled into the meeting as if me being Chinese American would create an instant connection with the other Asian person regardless of nationality or cultural background."
"A senior male coworker frequently belittled me - specifically by repeatedly telling me how to do simple tasks that I'd shown proficiency at for years (and that frankly a child could learn). He turned to this tactic mainly when called out for his incomplete / incorrect work."
"Our company CEO emailed me to curtly request that I bring him a coffee. I had spoken with him twice since I joined the company in a business development role. His assistant and I were the only two women of color at the company, and she was out that day."
"A colleague of mine told me that I was the first ever Asian they saw in a strategy role as most Asians do analytics. It made me feel like I was lumped into a group of people versus been seen as a unique individual with differing talents."
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