A personal perspective on diversity, equity, and inclusion

1 minute read

Many years ago, at the beginning of my career, I was sitting in a conference room with 10 of my colleagues—all of whom were white men. Our boss was a Black woman—she wasn’t in the room.

What began as a joke by one of them became a discussion about her qualifications and the “real reason” she had gotten her job: race and gender. It was an uncomfortable conversation. I didn’t participate in it but I also didn’t speak up or report it. I’ve justified this over the years by telling myself that as a young member of a new team, it wasn’t my place to say anything, and that any action on my part could result in retaliation. But there was another reason for my silence: apathy. It didn’t impact me, so I didn’t speak up.

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