RACIAL EMERGENCE?: The Triple whammy of an Immigrant Woman of Color

RACIAL EMERGENCE ? is a term that I use to describe the process of individual discovery of racist behaviors and their impact on the way of work and career advancement of employees while working in corporate America. If you are new to a system and process, the approach to getting grounded and situating yourself is from a different perspective than the established occupants. The conversations on women of color metrics in the workplace show a negative trend revealing a deeper impact on women of color in the workplace?than white women or black men.

Women?of Color (WOC) conversations are still emerging and need more voice and research, however, talking about the double whammy of being a woman and being a person of color still acknowledges two very “physical” dimensions that cause a negative impact.

For an Immigrant Woman of Color, in addition to Gender and Race, a third dimension of being an “immigrant” added to the mix can be a critical area of intersectionality that can generate insights as we seek to move the women of color numbers in corporate America.

The social and cultural background experiences of Immigrants are distinctly different from growing up in the American culture and the entrance into the workplace and perspectives determines how racism is heard, felt, and received.

As an Immigrant Woman of Color (IWOC), the first 25 years of my life were spent in Nigeria. I grew up in a relatively small town in West Africa called Akure. Gender expectations were very different. I recognize my black African privilege because I grew up in what I can term a “middle-class family” and my parents were educated. My dad was a Professor and education was a big deal in my household, In fact, college degree was never optional, always expected for everyone. However I had distinct memories of older men and even older women making what they saw as “complimentary remarks” about me and I quote “you are so beautiful and lucky, you will get a good husband”. The?ambitious?expectations for women were (and still culturally is) to marry well, marry a rich man, have a stable marriage (or Just get married and have kids, better still — stay married to a man that can take care of you).

As it related to the workplace directly RESPECT is another aspect. There is great emphasis on RESPECT for adults. In my first after-college job in Lagos Nigeria, I had the privilege of working in a global organization in a melting pot of diverse individuals. I didn't know it then but that was the beginning of my immersion into the international corporate workforce. Working in a global organization, as probably the youngest member in age within the group I was asked to call everyone by the first name. In Nigerian culture, it is disrespectful to refer to your elders by the first name, there is usually a way to distinctly reference an older person even in the different local dialects. In fact, the mindset is to listen to an elder and get things done as asked, not ask questions. I was at the worker bee stage of my life. Getting work done and getting rewarded was not a problem and I was a learner. However, my dad also went against the norm because at home he taught us different — question what you are told, don't follow blindly.

Respect is good, especially individual and mutual respect. However, this mindset can hold back advancement and lead to stagnation in a workplace where you are the minority. Innovation and equity are not found in keeping quiet and getting things done. We need everyone to be able to be their authentic selves to work and get their “voice” heard, thoughts valued, and acknowledged. This journey is a part of the emergence process for Immigrants and the pace of awareness and perspective of response is important to getting to inclusion for ALL WOMEN of COLOR.

I was born a Nigerian “FEMALE”.

Then, I came to the United States and became an “IMMIGRANT”.

Then I got into the America Workforce and became “BLACK”

As an IMMIGRANT WOMAN of COLOR, Understanding how these three shape my values, ethics, and ambition is the basis of exploring RACIAL EMERGENCE? and working to accelerate the systems in place for Inclusion in the workplace.