The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table

by Minda Harts

It was through that experience that I realized a couple of things: (1) I am my best advocate, and (2) negotiation happens on both sides.

salaries aren’t the only thing up for negotiation. We can negotiate extra vacation days, professional development stipends, remote working days, and stock options. I even had one woman tell me she negotiated flights back and forth to her preferred home on the weekends. Sometimes we are so darn focused on money that we don’t get creative enough.

A nice transitional phrase might be, “I would like to discuss my compensation to bring it in alignment with the market value in [your company’s city].”

didn’t have to whip out any “5 Ways to Talk about Money with Your Friend” lists—I allowed myself to be vulnerable, and she did too. If this is something that you want to try out, my main advice is to not make it weird!

6 INVEST IN YO’ SELF

Maybe you should consider hiring a career coach or taking a webinar—that’s a step in the right direction. There are many tools available to us if we want to level up, but we have to take advantage of those resources.

You could ask your employer if you could enroll in a coaching program because this new skill set would help you become a stronger leader and serve as a mentor to your colleagues.

If you aspire to hold an executive title one day and you’re currently just a few years into your career, what skills do you think someone in the C-Suite should have? Start to look at job descriptions for the roles you want, figure out what skills you need, and start investing in those skills.

One untapped resource I discovered not being used by many women of color was career coaching.

Have you noticed that every professional athlete has a coach? Why would you be any different? You are the captain of your team. You are the point guard for every shot you shoot.

When I first wrote out my career purpose statement, it was about two hundred words long. Over time I was able to refine it to a simple yet impactful statement. The sooner you can narrow in on what you want and need out of your career, the easier it will be when you look for a new job or articulate to your current manager how you would like them to partner with you on your career path.

My career purpose is and when I look back on my career, I hope I can say . The turning point in my career was and I realized that I had the power to re-create my narrative. My values are .

Don’t be ambivalent about what you want. Be clear. Ask your manager if you can discuss a roadmap for advancement. In this moment you will find out whether this is a place that will foster your growth or whether you have a good-for-nothing manager.

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your tool kit. Investing in learning how to tell your career story is essential.

firmly believe that we all need a career tool kit, just as some women keep an extra hand sanitizer or lipstick in their purse—just in case. This tool kit is the way we act on our purpose statement, act on our blueprint. We should adopt the same mentality when it comes to our careers. We should be ready, just in case!

Let me make a quick side note on those two critical tools for me, public speaking and networking: There will never be a time in your career when you don’t have to speak in public.

Networking is a critical tool. It’s hard to advance if you aren’t cultivating new and existing relationships. I can just imagine that some of you want to skip to the next chapter when I mention networking.

7 EMPIRE STATE OF MIND

Adopting an “I can make it anywhere” mindset will keep you standing strong on the days you feel like running out the door in tears. For so long we have learned to function in a dysfunctional work environment, and it will take an intentional shift in our thinking to replace self-doubt, insecurities, self-criticism, and other negative thoughts.

Those experiences shaped my young and impressionable mind. I always had the mindset that I didn’t want to struggle that way when I became an adult. For better or worse, those struggles shaped the driven career woman I became.

And when you grow up financially challenged, a couple of things follow you into adulthood: you never forget where you came from, and you work harder because you fear you might end up reliving the same experience as an adult.

My already shaky mindset then led to feelings of inadequacy. I didn’t want these white people to know I came from humble beginnings. And Drake hadn’t yet made it popular to start out from the bottom.

What my therapist helped me unpack is that I needed a new way of thinking and seeing myself. I had to look Minda in the mirror and ask her to change her ways.

Changing my mindset didn’t happen overnight, just because I read a couple of quotes. I had to make the conscious decision to adopt a positive and healthy approach to thrive in a workplace that isn’t always thinking about how to include me.

It originated with James Crook, but I am going to Minda-ize it: A woman who wants to lead must first turn her back on the crowd.

Representation isn’t some charitable act; it’s an intentional action that has the power to shape our mindsets and even the thinking of generations.

when you hear someone say, “Representation matters,” it matters to those who are never represented, and being represented and seen has the power to change the way women of color view themselves and the positions we aspire to.

take the advice Ms. Badu gave us in that song if we want to build our mindset: (1) “One day all them bags gon’ get in your way” and (2) “You can’t hurry up, ’cause you got too much stuff.” Essentially, we can’t let past or current workplaces stop us from going where we want to go. Pack light!

It’s hard to maintain your Empire State of Mind when you are constantly reminded that no matter how good you might be, “they” just don’t see or consider you for advancement. I won’t lie and tell you I didn’t want to give up.

8 NO MORE PASSES: FOR MY WHITE READERS

Can I tell you how many times I’ve been at a store and have had white people walk up to me and assume I work there? Too many to count!

We don’t exist just to serve you! Again, I say this from a place of love and lots of frustration.

“You are so articulate”? I would be a wealthy woman if I charged every time a white person said this to me.

What is the solution? Extend your social circle to people who don’t look like you. Scroll through your pictures and tell me how diverse your social circles are; this small yet impactful exercise will allow you to see your blind spots.

Since I was in the third grade, I’ve had white people (men and women) touching my hair.

You think it’s okay to tell women of color how to dress, how to talk, how to do their hair, down to what table is for them. We demand freedom from this basic b—level you continue to keep us at.

When you look at who is “winning” regarding C-Suite positions and board placements, women of color are on the lower end of every report. Lumping us into one category doesn’t help us reach parity. The word “woman” is always equated to white women first, and women of color are addendums.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say that your white woman favs are not always our white woman favs. In the same way, it’s not one-size-fits-all for feminist heroes. For example, white women revere Susan B. Anthony. She did a lot of good for white women. I will not try and erase her contribution to women’s history. But Susan B. Anthony was racist as hell!

I do believe that white people should be more aware of their surroundings and not feel entitled in every space they walk into (literally and figuratively)—that might allow them to see others.

So how can you be a success partner? I use the term “success partner” because, quite frankly, I am tired of the word “ally.” And I think many people are wearing this ally badge without doing anything to earn it.

Step outside your offices, or attend an employee resource group that you don’t usually frequent.

It all goes back to a mindset: you don’t consider many of us leaders because you’ve never seen us lead, but we rarely get the opportunity to advance into leadership roles that would demonstrate our ability to lead.

You can’t sit back with your white friends talking about what people of color need if you haven’t spent time listening to our stories. It’s not about shaming or making you feel guilty; it’s about educating you on how to best level the playing field.

9 SAY MY NAME, SAY MY NAME

Contrary to popular belief, there are black and brown women in leadership roles at some of the most well-known companies in the world; the problem is we don’t know their names.

Did you know that Edith Cooper was the most senior black woman at Goldman Sachs before she retired in 2017? Why isn’t Edith as well-known as Marissa Mayer? Ursula Burns was the first black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company (and so far the only).

Women like Patricia Roberts Harris, who was the first African American woman to hold a corporate board seat (IBM).

Suzanne Shank is the chairwoman and CEO at Siebert, Cisneros, Shank, and Company, which she established in 1996.

Katrina Adams is the chairman of the board and intermediate past president at the US Tennis Association.

Tracey Travis is the executive vice president and chief financial officer at the Estée Lauder Companies.