"You Don't Get It"

“Why do you want to do this work?” Four words came into my mind at the moment I heard that question, "you don't get it." A well-intentioned white female executive and mentor was concerned about my professional path. She said, "you can easily go back to the type of work you were doing." She then went on to say, "the work you're doing is hard and nebulous." On this point, however, she was exactly right, inclusion and diversity work is hard and nebulous especially for people who want to lead these efforts.

In fact, there is evidence of the turnover among diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leaders as stated in this article in Chief "DEI work seems to need constant justification because the metrics and measure of success is not always clear and that belongingness is a feeling that can increase employee engagement and their contributions to the workplace, but there are no easy ways to make direct connections." Additionally the article states, “many companies don’t understand what’s required to make diversity and inclusion initiatives successful because they don’t properly view them as strategic change management initiatives that impact every area of the business and the bottom line.” Herein lies some of the challenges in doing DEI work. However, I have been clear on this from the beginning, that I am committed to this work, and I will continue doing it no matter how hard it gets. Nothing I know worth advocating for, is easy.

When I decided to make a significant career change from hospital finance and operations to DEI work, there were a number of life experiences that led me to this decision. My work life started with seeing mainly white managers and executives in the roles I wanted to some day be in. Where were the leaders like me? Would I ever feel like I belong? Unfortunately, the answer was no and not for a long time and in some cases, still not today after 30+ years.

There is still few people like me in the c-suite or in the boardroom. In fact, I was the first Latina executive director at my place of employment. I have faith, and as a true optimist, I believe that doing DEI work will help to change this narrative.

Is DEI work hard? Yes. Is this work riddled with critics? Yes. Is this work worth doing to achieve equity for all? Absolutely. I am doing this work because I want to change the landscape for others coming behind me. I want to not only help open doors but also make it easier for others to walk in.

I recently received an email that touched my heart and helped to reinforce the work I am now doing. It read, "Hi Anna, This may come as a completely random email, but I wanted to reach out to you. I worked at Stanford while in college around the year 1999. I, in no way, expect that you would remember me. Nonetheless, I thought after all these years it was so important to reach out to you and share the motivational and positive impact you have had on my education and career. I reached out to you while I was in an employee where you work because I was proud to see a Latina professional moving up the ranks. I graduated college in 2001. Over the years I have grown in my career and have been able to continue to learn and develop. However, there has been many times over the last 20+ years where I have had doors slammed on my face. And have been nothing less than discouraged and unmotivated. However, I have always remembered you and your shining example of a career driven Latina. As both, a woman and a Latina, you paved a way for yourself and broke down many barriers. Very unintentionally, you have been a motivating factor in my life. Knowing that you could excel always gave me confidence that I could too! I was so proud to see that a Latina woman could be something big in an organization like the one you are in. Because of you I have always pushed forward. While many years too late and long overdue, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for showing a silly 19-year-old that she had so many opportunities. Thank you for unintentionally motivating me. I wanted to make sure that you knew you affected my life in such a positive way. Thank you, Anna. I will forever be grateful."

A colleague recently told me a story of a conversation we had when she was lamenting about the inequity she saw in the system for a Latina woman with a four-year college degree, who was working as a file clerk. She said that she couldn’t understand how she had a better job without a college degree. She told me she was taken aback when I answered her by saying, “It’s because you are white”. She said that comment was a defining moment for her.

Experiencing life, professionally and personally, as a female of color has led me to where I am today. I want to see people like me who are in positions where they are not the "only" or the "first." The 2021 Women in the Workplace Report highlights that despite increased focus on DEI and racial equity in corporate America, we see little improvement in the day-to-day experiences of women of color. For me this is a call to action.

I am up for the challenge to continue DEI work, albeit it being difficult at times, but it is worth every opportunity I get to amplify the need for equity and belonging for all. I hope that by writing this article, it will help others to better understand why this work is so important to me and many others and to consider being an ally and instead ask, “how can I help?”