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How to Talk to Your Boss About Race: Speaking Up Without Getting Shut Down
An indispensable practical toolkit for dismantling racism in the workplace without fear
Reporting and personal testimonials have exposed racism in every institution in this country. But knowing that racism exists isn't nearly enough. Social media posts about #BlackLivesMatter are nice, but how do you push leadership towards real anti-racist action?
Diversity and inclusion strategist Y-Vonne Hutchinson helps tech giants, political leaders, and Fortune 500 companies speak more productively about racism and bias and turn talk into action. In this clear and accessible guide, Hutchinson equips employees with a framework to think about race at work, prepares them to have frank and effective conversations with more powerful leaders, helps them center marginalized perspectives, and explains how to leverage power dynamics to get results while navigating backlash and gaslighting.
How to Talk To Your Boss About Race is a crucial handbook to moving beyond fear to push for change. No matter how much formal power you have, you can create antiracist change at work.
Reporting and personal testimonials have exposed racism in every institution in this country. But knowing that racism exists isn't nearly enough. Social media posts about #BlackLivesMatter are nice, but how do you push leadership towards real anti-racist action?
Diversity and inclusion strategist Y-Vonne Hutchinson helps tech giants, political leaders, and Fortune 500 companies speak more productively about racism and bias and turn talk into action. In this clear and accessible guide, Hutchinson equips employees with a framework to think about race at work, prepares them to have frank and effective conversations with more powerful leaders, helps them center marginalized perspectives, and explains how to leverage power dynamics to get results while navigating backlash and gaslighting.
How to Talk To Your Boss About Race is a crucial handbook to moving beyond fear to push for change. No matter how much formal power you have, you can create antiracist change at work.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2022
11 people are currently reading
705 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 19, 2022
Borrowed this on a whim because this is a conversation that unfortunately needs to happen more, happen more often OR doesn't need to happen at all because leaders, should, well, be better and more of these issues. But alas, that is not so. There are TONS of conversations about navigating issues such as racism in the workplace, and the explosion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, etc. type of initiatives have led to conversations about their meaning, their impact, whether it's a training that "whitewashes" the problem, etc.
It's mostly a handbook that takes the reader though the basics: defining terms such as race and racism, the common myths that need to be debunked, how to approach some of the common conflicts and issues, what are some common pitfalls that people encounter when trying to be anti-racist and/or are attempting to address racism, recommendations for self-care, etc.
That's pretty much it. I wouldn't be surprised that if by now if you've taken a DEI (or similar) type of training or have been involved in community organizations that address issues related to racism or are tied to racism, etc. then this a lot of this probably isn't new but is useful as a guide for new people.
For me, I had hoped there would be a little more, that it was not quite a 101-type of book and have to recognize that I am not the audience for it/I did not look into this book as closely as I should have. Which is not to say there is no value or that it's bad, just that it's not for me. Still, it was worth a read and if you've only had these lessons or training in a less cohesive manner this could be a good book to read to help organize thoughts, your approach, as a guide to use or to serve as a template for your own circles, organizations, workplaces, etc.
I would say it's really a 3.5 but will bump it up to four. Library borrow was best for me but if you only have so many resources as say a small business this could be a good purchase for senior staffers/leadership for their own personal awareness or to use as a template for training.
It's mostly a handbook that takes the reader though the basics: defining terms such as race and racism, the common myths that need to be debunked, how to approach some of the common conflicts and issues, what are some common pitfalls that people encounter when trying to be anti-racist and/or are attempting to address racism, recommendations for self-care, etc.
That's pretty much it. I wouldn't be surprised that if by now if you've taken a DEI (or similar) type of training or have been involved in community organizations that address issues related to racism or are tied to racism, etc. then this a lot of this probably isn't new but is useful as a guide for new people.
For me, I had hoped there would be a little more, that it was not quite a 101-type of book and have to recognize that I am not the audience for it/I did not look into this book as closely as I should have. Which is not to say there is no value or that it's bad, just that it's not for me. Still, it was worth a read and if you've only had these lessons or training in a less cohesive manner this could be a good book to read to help organize thoughts, your approach, as a guide to use or to serve as a template for your own circles, organizations, workplaces, etc.
I would say it's really a 3.5 but will bump it up to four. Library borrow was best for me but if you only have so many resources as say a small business this could be a good purchase for senior staffers/leadership for their own personal awareness or to use as a template for training.
May 20, 2022
"Racism has existed for centuries. It was a foundational organizing principle of the United States, the country I'm from. It restricts opportunities for people around the world. Our identities have always determined where we've been to work comfortably. Potential has always been equitably distributed, while opportunity has not. That is the way things have always been."
"I would argue the thing that racism does most effectively, aside from killing people and draining generations' worth of collective potential, is waste time. I wasted my time trying to be the perfect Black person. I wasted my time trying to fix something that was never broken. I wasted my time trying to avoid racism instead of fighting it head-on. I wasted my time thinking there could be any fairness for people like me in the workplace without justice or repair."
"Before then, I had thought of race the same way I thought about video games: it was a challenge to be beaten and nothing else. Of course, I was wrong. There is no way out of Blackness. No number of White friends can shield you. No Ivy League school or fancy degree can save you. No job will exempt you."
"We experienced the same exclusion, feelings of alienation, and difficulty advancing. While the circumstances differed, the root cause was the same: racism. Coming to the truth was painful, but it was also liberating. There is freedom in knowing. Recognizing that I wasn't the problem-racism was-freed me from spending the rest of my career engaging in the Sisyphean task of contorting myself to an impossible standard. Realizing that I could never be perfect enough to escape that problem freed me up to do better things with my time, like learn to love who I am; fight the actual enemy, racism; and write this book."
"It can be hard to identify racism at work because we struggle to define it generally. There are those of us who know it because we experience it. There are some of who still believe that racism is real only if it involves a burning cross, a white hood, or a "Whites only" sign. There are those who think of racism as a rare interpersonal issue caused by a few bad apples."
"...I define racism as prejudice against someone because of their race, reinforced by systems of power."
"But university admissions are incredibly biased, determined by class, economic privilege, and acess to good tertiary education-and all of these factors, of course, are greatly influenced by race. Those who are able to overcome the barriers go on to face bias within their own university programs, where they may be less likely to receive mentorship or may even be discouraged from pursuing their chosen area to study."
"Racists benefit from us wasting our time and energy trying to figure out if they actually mean to be racist. Someone tells a racist joke, and we worry about whether or not they meant to be malicious or knew their behavior could be hurting instead of repairing the damage done and making sure it never happens again. Focusing on intent keeps us occupied while racists get to continue being racist."
"Bias and racism are not the same thing. A bias refers to a preferential or an adverse response to a person as a result of aspects of their identity, including but not limited to their race. Racism refers to the personal belief that some races are superior to others. Bias can be about a lot of things-race, gender identity, disability, age, socioeconomic background. Racism is just about race."
"At work, intersectionality can be helpful in understanding the unique experiences of those holding multiple marginalized identities and responding to their needs. For example, in the workplace the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action have been White women. Meanwhile, women of color are paid less, harassed more, and excluded more often than their White female peers. Further, women of color of different races face different challenges."
"Our workforce is not just segregated by occupation; it is also racially segmented. This phenomenon means that the higher up the organizational ladder you go, the more White employees there are."
"Fighting racism isn't just about increasing representation, it's about increasing acess to power. Recall that power is a core component of racism. Power systemically soldifies the advantages conferred by racist people and institutions across society. Increasing access is the first step to dismantling this racist system of power and subordination."
"If you're curious about how your compensation stacks up, I recommend talking to a White guy."
"Identifying your social location is an important part of the process of introspection. Understanding where you fit in the workplace social system and unpacking the ways in which your location affects your perception is vital to developing an effective communication strategy."
"You may not realize it, but you have plenty of sources of power at work. Power can be tricky dynamic in the workplace. We know it exists, but often it is really hard to pin down how that power works and how we can make it work for us. For of those of us on the margins, who lack seniority or come from underrepresented groups, the way power functions at work can seem even more opaque, and grasping its unwritten rules nearly impossible."
"Perhaps even more importantly, knowing the sources of power enables you to demystify the system for your more marginalized colleagues. Racism is reinforced when privileged colleagues hoard power from marginalized colleagues; it is in the best interest of those wishing to maintain power to obfuscate how it's made. To dismantle racism and increase access to power, we must break down these barriers with radical transparency."
"French and Raven proposed six bases for social power: reward, coercion, legitimate, referent, expert, and informational."
"Research shows women and non-White leaders are often penalized for advocating for diversity at work. White men avoid censure for such advocacy, but they don't benefit from it."
"Societally, White supremacy is a form of legitimate power. In our culturally embedded racial hierarchy, White people tend to have more power and privilege than people of color. White supremacy is solidified through social structures like our education system, which maintains White privilege by providing better outcomes for White people than for people of color. These structural forces and cultural norms are further bolstered by the power of legitimizing organizations and individuals who hire, elect, recruit, or promote White people over people of color."
"Antiracism is a practice rooted in continuous self-education, commitment to pushing boundaries, and the ability to radically reimagine what is possible. That work starts here, with you."
"There are no heroes in this work. People who go it alone get burned out or singled out for retaliation. They often don't have the information, influence, or acess they need to shift people away from the status quo."
"Addressing racism and bearing its effects can take an emotional toll. Having a network of buddies at work can also give you emotional support."
"Be mindful of when and how you engage other emplyees on the topic of race. Remember that not everyone will agree with you, and some may see your activism as a threat. Be cautious when using company computers or communications channels to organize."
"...those impacted by racism can hardly leave their identities (and burdens) at the door. Depending on where you work, ignoring racism might actually put your employees in harm's way."
"Remember, you don't have to be a person of color to be harmed by racism. Just witnessing it can be harmful, discouraging, and traumatizing. Moreover, workplaces that tolerate racism likely also tolerate other harmful behaviors that negatively impact the culture for everyone."
"...conversations about race can be fraught, provoking distance and defensiveness in people who are not used to having them. You need to prepare to navigate these dynamics, unpredicatble as they are."
"There is no guarantee that by saying the right words you will magically cure a person or an organization of racism."
"It's a majore determinant of our sense of self-worth. When you call attention to the fact that racism exists in the workplace, you complicate people's narratives about meritocracy, how they earned what they have, and their sense of themselves and their worth. You call into question one of the primary ways in which we define ourselves."
"Denial is a form of fragility that minimizes the serverity and pervasiveness of racism, like downplaying the racist act you just experienced or socially pressuring people of color into minimizing their own experiences of racism to accomodate a "color-blind" worldview."
"Denial isn't rational. Denial, in fact, requires precisley that we ignore rationally or facts in order to treat others in a way that conforms to our worldview. Irrationality is rarely overcome through rational approaches."
"Sea lioning is designed to exhaust the target's patience and energy while also portraying them as unreasonable. Overtime it can erode trust, discouraging people from answering questions posed in good faith or engaging those with a genuine desire to learn."
"Racist narratives historically have been created to justify racist actions, suppress resistance, and cement hatred and bigotry. At work, we tell ourselves these stories to adapt to and justify the inequality that we see. Over time, and the more closely we identify with our jobs, our investment in these tales grows."
"Research has shown that worplaces that emphasize meritocracy actually have some of the most biased outcomes in hiring and performance evaluation. This phenomenon, discovered by researchers Dr. Emilio J. Castilla and Stephen Benard, is called the "paradox of meritocracy." Those who believe they are operating in an objective system are often the least likely to reflect on their behavior; the narrative of the meritocratic culture deludes peoples into thinking that they will behave fairly be default. The delusion of impartiality in the absence of active combat against bias in all its forms allows it to thrive."
"Affirmative action isn't racial quotas; those are illegal. It's not hiring someone on the basis of their race or gender, which is also illegal. It's not giving special treatment to underrepresented folks. It's the requirement that federal contractors and agencies proactively ensure that workers not face discrimination."
"The only group that has achieved or exceeded parity with their professional workforce at the executive level is White people. Every other group is drastically underrepresented. This is true even for non-White workers who are overrepresented in the professional workforce, like Asians, whose overrepresentation at the professional level isn't reflected at the executives level."
"The "women first" argument is the trickle-down theory of diversity and iclusion. It's predicated on self-serving beliefs about benevolence and altruism, assuming that improving working conditions for one group will naturally improve them for everyone regardless of that group's complicity in White supremacyor racial privilege. It usually deepens privilege for one group with the expectations that this expansion of privilege with translate into a universal benefit. It never does. It fails to take into account that White women benefit from White supremacy and from aligning themselves with White men in power. For this reasons, it's not uncommon for organizations that employ a "women first" mindset to actually see worse outcomes for their Black and Brown employees."
"Yes, we need acknowledge the unique challenges faced by women in the workforce. But we need to balance it with support for other, less visible groups who deal with similar challenges exacerbated by historical inequity."
"In my life and in my work, I have been told a multitude of times by White people around the world that racism, particularly anti-Black racism, is a uniquely American problem. Sometimes this happens with companies with an international presence. Other times, it's used as justification by companies based abroad who want to work with us, but only if we look at inclusion only for specific groups (usually women). My lived experience and the experiences of others from ethnic minorities that I have encountered around the world indicates there's nothing special about America. Just as colonialism was global, so too is its cousin, racism."
"Take it from me: experiencing harassment or microaggresions whil colleagues you know, trust, and even consider to be your friends do nothing is a special kind of torture. When I think of the racism that I have experienced throughout my career, the instances where people watched it happen-where they watched me get berated or ignored, made fun of or passed over-and failed to act are the ones that stick with me. Quite often they were also the tipping points, the pivotal moments where I said, "Fuck this job. Fuck these people," and I fully detached. Sure, I'd do my job. But I wasn't going to go the extra mile for those people and I certainly wasn't going to let them in."
"Racism at work is more likely to manifest through a pattern of microaggressions and subtle behaviors like talking over someone, ignoring their contributions, giving them unfavorable reviews, excluding them from plum assignments or social activities, and gaslighting them when they do speak up for themselves."
"I have yet to meet the perfect antiracist. We're all born into a racist society and indoctrinated into racist ideas. Undoing those influences can take a lifetime. That's why it's important to see this work as the journey that it is and to accept that we all make mistakes."
"The truthh is that lots of people who try to change their organizations for the better-or, heck, even strive just to be treated as an equal-get pushed out. Some of the people you most admire have been fired."
"Don't let your former employer shame you into keeping quiet and doing something that doesn't serve you."
"Working more for the same amount of money and limited recognition is a recipe for burnout."
"I would argue the thing that racism does most effectively, aside from killing people and draining generations' worth of collective potential, is waste time. I wasted my time trying to be the perfect Black person. I wasted my time trying to fix something that was never broken. I wasted my time trying to avoid racism instead of fighting it head-on. I wasted my time thinking there could be any fairness for people like me in the workplace without justice or repair."
"Before then, I had thought of race the same way I thought about video games: it was a challenge to be beaten and nothing else. Of course, I was wrong. There is no way out of Blackness. No number of White friends can shield you. No Ivy League school or fancy degree can save you. No job will exempt you."
"We experienced the same exclusion, feelings of alienation, and difficulty advancing. While the circumstances differed, the root cause was the same: racism. Coming to the truth was painful, but it was also liberating. There is freedom in knowing. Recognizing that I wasn't the problem-racism was-freed me from spending the rest of my career engaging in the Sisyphean task of contorting myself to an impossible standard. Realizing that I could never be perfect enough to escape that problem freed me up to do better things with my time, like learn to love who I am; fight the actual enemy, racism; and write this book."
"It can be hard to identify racism at work because we struggle to define it generally. There are those of us who know it because we experience it. There are some of who still believe that racism is real only if it involves a burning cross, a white hood, or a "Whites only" sign. There are those who think of racism as a rare interpersonal issue caused by a few bad apples."
"...I define racism as prejudice against someone because of their race, reinforced by systems of power."
"But university admissions are incredibly biased, determined by class, economic privilege, and acess to good tertiary education-and all of these factors, of course, are greatly influenced by race. Those who are able to overcome the barriers go on to face bias within their own university programs, where they may be less likely to receive mentorship or may even be discouraged from pursuing their chosen area to study."
"Racists benefit from us wasting our time and energy trying to figure out if they actually mean to be racist. Someone tells a racist joke, and we worry about whether or not they meant to be malicious or knew their behavior could be hurting instead of repairing the damage done and making sure it never happens again. Focusing on intent keeps us occupied while racists get to continue being racist."
"Bias and racism are not the same thing. A bias refers to a preferential or an adverse response to a person as a result of aspects of their identity, including but not limited to their race. Racism refers to the personal belief that some races are superior to others. Bias can be about a lot of things-race, gender identity, disability, age, socioeconomic background. Racism is just about race."
"At work, intersectionality can be helpful in understanding the unique experiences of those holding multiple marginalized identities and responding to their needs. For example, in the workplace the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action have been White women. Meanwhile, women of color are paid less, harassed more, and excluded more often than their White female peers. Further, women of color of different races face different challenges."
"Our workforce is not just segregated by occupation; it is also racially segmented. This phenomenon means that the higher up the organizational ladder you go, the more White employees there are."
"Fighting racism isn't just about increasing representation, it's about increasing acess to power. Recall that power is a core component of racism. Power systemically soldifies the advantages conferred by racist people and institutions across society. Increasing access is the first step to dismantling this racist system of power and subordination."
"If you're curious about how your compensation stacks up, I recommend talking to a White guy."
"Identifying your social location is an important part of the process of introspection. Understanding where you fit in the workplace social system and unpacking the ways in which your location affects your perception is vital to developing an effective communication strategy."
"You may not realize it, but you have plenty of sources of power at work. Power can be tricky dynamic in the workplace. We know it exists, but often it is really hard to pin down how that power works and how we can make it work for us. For of those of us on the margins, who lack seniority or come from underrepresented groups, the way power functions at work can seem even more opaque, and grasping its unwritten rules nearly impossible."
"Perhaps even more importantly, knowing the sources of power enables you to demystify the system for your more marginalized colleagues. Racism is reinforced when privileged colleagues hoard power from marginalized colleagues; it is in the best interest of those wishing to maintain power to obfuscate how it's made. To dismantle racism and increase access to power, we must break down these barriers with radical transparency."
"French and Raven proposed six bases for social power: reward, coercion, legitimate, referent, expert, and informational."
"Research shows women and non-White leaders are often penalized for advocating for diversity at work. White men avoid censure for such advocacy, but they don't benefit from it."
"Societally, White supremacy is a form of legitimate power. In our culturally embedded racial hierarchy, White people tend to have more power and privilege than people of color. White supremacy is solidified through social structures like our education system, which maintains White privilege by providing better outcomes for White people than for people of color. These structural forces and cultural norms are further bolstered by the power of legitimizing organizations and individuals who hire, elect, recruit, or promote White people over people of color."
"Antiracism is a practice rooted in continuous self-education, commitment to pushing boundaries, and the ability to radically reimagine what is possible. That work starts here, with you."
"There are no heroes in this work. People who go it alone get burned out or singled out for retaliation. They often don't have the information, influence, or acess they need to shift people away from the status quo."
"Addressing racism and bearing its effects can take an emotional toll. Having a network of buddies at work can also give you emotional support."
"Be mindful of when and how you engage other emplyees on the topic of race. Remember that not everyone will agree with you, and some may see your activism as a threat. Be cautious when using company computers or communications channels to organize."
"...those impacted by racism can hardly leave their identities (and burdens) at the door. Depending on where you work, ignoring racism might actually put your employees in harm's way."
"Remember, you don't have to be a person of color to be harmed by racism. Just witnessing it can be harmful, discouraging, and traumatizing. Moreover, workplaces that tolerate racism likely also tolerate other harmful behaviors that negatively impact the culture for everyone."
"...conversations about race can be fraught, provoking distance and defensiveness in people who are not used to having them. You need to prepare to navigate these dynamics, unpredicatble as they are."
"There is no guarantee that by saying the right words you will magically cure a person or an organization of racism."
"It's a majore determinant of our sense of self-worth. When you call attention to the fact that racism exists in the workplace, you complicate people's narratives about meritocracy, how they earned what they have, and their sense of themselves and their worth. You call into question one of the primary ways in which we define ourselves."
"Denial is a form of fragility that minimizes the serverity and pervasiveness of racism, like downplaying the racist act you just experienced or socially pressuring people of color into minimizing their own experiences of racism to accomodate a "color-blind" worldview."
"Denial isn't rational. Denial, in fact, requires precisley that we ignore rationally or facts in order to treat others in a way that conforms to our worldview. Irrationality is rarely overcome through rational approaches."
"Sea lioning is designed to exhaust the target's patience and energy while also portraying them as unreasonable. Overtime it can erode trust, discouraging people from answering questions posed in good faith or engaging those with a genuine desire to learn."
"Racist narratives historically have been created to justify racist actions, suppress resistance, and cement hatred and bigotry. At work, we tell ourselves these stories to adapt to and justify the inequality that we see. Over time, and the more closely we identify with our jobs, our investment in these tales grows."
"Research has shown that worplaces that emphasize meritocracy actually have some of the most biased outcomes in hiring and performance evaluation. This phenomenon, discovered by researchers Dr. Emilio J. Castilla and Stephen Benard, is called the "paradox of meritocracy." Those who believe they are operating in an objective system are often the least likely to reflect on their behavior; the narrative of the meritocratic culture deludes peoples into thinking that they will behave fairly be default. The delusion of impartiality in the absence of active combat against bias in all its forms allows it to thrive."
"Affirmative action isn't racial quotas; those are illegal. It's not hiring someone on the basis of their race or gender, which is also illegal. It's not giving special treatment to underrepresented folks. It's the requirement that federal contractors and agencies proactively ensure that workers not face discrimination."
"The only group that has achieved or exceeded parity with their professional workforce at the executive level is White people. Every other group is drastically underrepresented. This is true even for non-White workers who are overrepresented in the professional workforce, like Asians, whose overrepresentation at the professional level isn't reflected at the executives level."
"The "women first" argument is the trickle-down theory of diversity and iclusion. It's predicated on self-serving beliefs about benevolence and altruism, assuming that improving working conditions for one group will naturally improve them for everyone regardless of that group's complicity in White supremacyor racial privilege. It usually deepens privilege for one group with the expectations that this expansion of privilege with translate into a universal benefit. It never does. It fails to take into account that White women benefit from White supremacy and from aligning themselves with White men in power. For this reasons, it's not uncommon for organizations that employ a "women first" mindset to actually see worse outcomes for their Black and Brown employees."
"Yes, we need acknowledge the unique challenges faced by women in the workforce. But we need to balance it with support for other, less visible groups who deal with similar challenges exacerbated by historical inequity."
"In my life and in my work, I have been told a multitude of times by White people around the world that racism, particularly anti-Black racism, is a uniquely American problem. Sometimes this happens with companies with an international presence. Other times, it's used as justification by companies based abroad who want to work with us, but only if we look at inclusion only for specific groups (usually women). My lived experience and the experiences of others from ethnic minorities that I have encountered around the world indicates there's nothing special about America. Just as colonialism was global, so too is its cousin, racism."
"Take it from me: experiencing harassment or microaggresions whil colleagues you know, trust, and even consider to be your friends do nothing is a special kind of torture. When I think of the racism that I have experienced throughout my career, the instances where people watched it happen-where they watched me get berated or ignored, made fun of or passed over-and failed to act are the ones that stick with me. Quite often they were also the tipping points, the pivotal moments where I said, "Fuck this job. Fuck these people," and I fully detached. Sure, I'd do my job. But I wasn't going to go the extra mile for those people and I certainly wasn't going to let them in."
"Racism at work is more likely to manifest through a pattern of microaggressions and subtle behaviors like talking over someone, ignoring their contributions, giving them unfavorable reviews, excluding them from plum assignments or social activities, and gaslighting them when they do speak up for themselves."
"I have yet to meet the perfect antiracist. We're all born into a racist society and indoctrinated into racist ideas. Undoing those influences can take a lifetime. That's why it's important to see this work as the journey that it is and to accept that we all make mistakes."
"The truthh is that lots of people who try to change their organizations for the better-or, heck, even strive just to be treated as an equal-get pushed out. Some of the people you most admire have been fired."
"Don't let your former employer shame you into keeping quiet and doing something that doesn't serve you."
"Working more for the same amount of money and limited recognition is a recipe for burnout."
March 30, 2022
Good book to have in your antiracist toolbox. I'll definitely be referring back to it. I read this partially for racism discussions at work, but I think this could easily be helpful for queer inclusivity discussions as well, the other issue I'm fighting for at work. I could replace racist with 'homophobic' or 'transphobic' and a lot of the methodology and discussion tips in the book are just as relevant. Obviously this is definitely aimed at racism, but I found it doubly helpful in my own situation.
Remember, if you are white like I am, make sure to read and support and listen to authors of color, not other white people about racism.
Remember, if you are white like I am, make sure to read and support and listen to authors of color, not other white people about racism.
April 10, 2022
I picked this book up to help me drive worthwhile conversation and change in my workplace. And I think it gives you a lot of great takeaways but also had some opportunity for more. As an individual contributor at work(also a cis white woman), I'm not always aware of what 'could' be the systemically racist practices or policies in place and what's just a symptom of the environment in which my workplace is placed?
I also couldn't just get into the text, so I bought the audio book about halfway through and really enjoyed listening to Y-Vonne on my drives to and from work. She's a dynamic speaker and I can see why having her in front of an audience to discuss subject matter like this has made her business successful.
I also couldn't just get into the text, so I bought the audio book about halfway through and really enjoyed listening to Y-Vonne on my drives to and from work. She's a dynamic speaker and I can see why having her in front of an audience to discuss subject matter like this has made her business successful.
April 18, 2022
I would rate it a 3.75 if I could. I could relate to a lot of what the author proposes, but some of the recommendations are impractical and there were several points with which I disagree based on my experience in the field. However, this was a quick and easy read and certainly great as a conversation starter!
February 7, 2022
If you want to help create a workplace where people of color can thrive, this is the book for you. It’s practical and encouraging, and you’ll learn ideas for small steps to start with as well as larger strategies that will make a difference. —Karen Catlin, author of "Better Allies"
March 1, 2022
Talking about this book helped spark some good conversations on my team! And lit a small fire under my boss. Two wins!
September 20, 2022
Y-Vonne did a fantastic job sharing her knowledge from years of DEIB work. I especially loved hearing her read her book and would like to go back and highlight several parts in the ebook edition.
September 20, 2022
This book is so good. Chapter 7 understanding the various myths was so clear and concise. The author is compassionate and funny while delivering serious content. Everyone needs this book!
October 10, 2022
DNF
I just could never get going. I appreciate a lot of the points, but the writing wasn’t my cup of tea.
I just could never get going. I appreciate a lot of the points, but the writing wasn’t my cup of tea.
February 20, 2025
Decent info
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews