A new approach to diversity
Last week was really good!
It started with a wonderful trip to D.C. for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Annual Meeting.
Managing partners, general counsel, and diversity professionals from some of the biggest firms and companies in the U.S. came together to discuss how we can better promote diversity in law.
Upon my return to Nashville, I then had the honor of sharing the stage at Vanderbilt with one of my amazing Mastermind attorneys, Stacey Koju.
Our topic was on how to be a better ally for women of color lawyers.
When we were asked to serve on a panel to discuss diversity in the legal profession, we knew we wanted to do something different, fun, and thought-provoking.
The Nashville Chapter of the Legal Association of Women (“L.A.W.”) was all in and gave us free reign to shake things up a bit.
Did we push the envelope a little?
Of course! That’s our signature style 😉
But we did it in a way that was safe and inviting.
The feedback has been phenomenal and we’re so glad we decided to take a new approach to this somewhat fatigued but critically important topic.
You may have attended diversity presentations before but I doubt you’ve experienced anything like this!
Lucky for you, we were able to record the audio so you can listen to the presentation for free on this week’s podcast episode HERE.
If you’ve ever wondered why we’re still talking about diversity or how you can be a better champion of women of color lawyers, be sure to listen.
Then leave a comment below and let me know your biggest takeaway.
All my best,
Heather
P.S. Want to participate in next year’s Mastermind? I’m interviewing for the last 2 spots now. Applications close next week – submit yours here.
Regarding the example of noting that a person of color is “articulate” is a micro-offense, isn’t it true that some people are simply more articulate than others? I have said to MANY of my white friends words to the effect “you articulated that so well” or “you are so articulate.” I would not consider this a slight to anyone else, so why is it a slight to a person of color? In the legal profession, particularly, it seems to be a compliment. Or should everyone be offended by it? This is the type of thing I find very confusing, and I want to get it right.
That’s a great question. I’m hopeful that Stacey will get a chance to respond but I thought I’d go ahead and share my perspective as well. Although a statement that someone is articulate may be seen as a compliment and truly how you intend for it to be taken, if a person has dealt with stereotypes their entire lives, they may hear something different. If they’ve heard someone make a comment like that (from a place of surprise) over and over again throughout their lives, the comment can be triggering because it’s a reminder that most people assume they’re not intelligent based solely on the color of their skin. I’ve had other friends share that a common trigger for them is the question, “What school did you go to?” It seems like a perfectly normal question, but given the context and delivery, it can feel as though the speaker is questioning your intelligence and whether you got an opportunity simply because of affirmative action. Another common example is when someone tells a story about a person of color and notes “they’re really nice.” Alone, that seems like a perfectly acceptable comment but many people make it based on an underlying bias that people of color aren’t nice or can’t be trusted. Context and delivery are critical. Hopefully, that helps!