In this clip, listen to a Black woman describe her experiences with intersectional racism in the workforce. She recounts how every time she has been up for promotion or found a way to move up in a company, her supervisors tell her she needs to work more on her communication because her coworkers have called her aggressive or intimidating. Each instance they cite, however, was simply a moment when she pushed back or asserted her opinion on what would be best for the client. Such racism not only limits the trajectory of her career but also gaslights her into thinking she has a communication problem. Despite her incredible work for the company, she is continuously placed in a position where she needs to defend herself and has zero support.
Even if I was the best at what I was doing, even if I was the most accomplished, even if the customers themselves were like ‘we need her back she’s the only one,’ it would only take one person to say that I was an angry Black female or to insinuate that I was aggressive for me to be back in a situation where I had to defend myself.
