"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 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."
"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."
"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 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."
"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 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?"
"My manager told me he was worried I didn't know how to keep information confidential. When I asked him why, he said "I talked to a lot of people", but he didn't have any specific feedback where I shared something I shouldn't have. Because being social is a bad thing?"
"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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"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".
"When I was about to make an offer to a new hire the CEO of my company pulled me aside to give me some advice. He wanted me to know that women don't negotiate and I should offer a lower number to her. I was stunned as I am a woman and he hired me."
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.”
"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."
"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."
"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."