Sending Your Representative to the Office: Minorities Say They Have to Keep Up A Front At Work

October 19th, 2012 - By Tonya Garcia

Image: iStockphoto

The Center for Talent Innovation (wow… this exists!) has just published a new report — “Vaulting the Color Bar: How Sponsorship Levers Multicultural Professionals Into Leadership” — finding that people of color, from African Americans to Latinos and Asians, feel they have to put up a front in the office. “More than 35 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as 45 percent of Asians, say they ‘need to compromise their authenticity’ to conform to their company’s standards of demeanor or style,” The Harvard Business Review reports. “Forty percent of African-Americans — and a third of people of color overall — feel like outsiders in their corporate culture, compared with 26 percent of Caucasians.”

The conclusion that the article draws is that while companies are good at diversifying the staff, real change to the corporate culture isn’t happening. An Indian executive says she was told her accent was “too stuffy.” African-American workers say they’re conscious not to come off as the “angry Black.” Additional research conducted by another group, CTI, shows that when you “compromise your authenticity,” it leads to a lack of loyalty and a tendency for people to leave their jobs.

Of course, this, in and of itself isn’t news. People of color didn’t need a study to gather this information. They live it. It’s something we’ve covered on Madame Noire extensively. Nonetheless, attaching the anecdotal to something scientific (even it it’s quasi-scientific) is a positive.

Company leaders need to open their eyes and look around. The demography of the U.S. is changing. So are the demographics of their employees, their customers, and their corporate partners. Where businesses may not have felt it necessary to do any more than offer a little lip service to diversity before, they need to actively address the issues their corporate culture is facing. Any company that isn’t tapping into the innovation that comes with nurturing a diverse staff is missing an opportunity that will, undoubtedly, lead to negative consequences for that business.

The first consequence will be the loss of good people. Fortunately, there are companies that know what’s up. If you feel you’re not being fully accepted at the company you work with, you should feel free to pursue other options. Keep your eyes peeled for new opportunities. Maintain your professional networks. Ask around about the culture at other companies you’re interested in. And make sure your resume is always up-to-date so you can act when something looks appealing.

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  • Kayo Halana Malie

    I’ve never had this issue. I am the same no matter who I am with.

  • FMPC

    I work in corporate America and I do NOT change myself one bit. There is value in true diversity… not simply having someone in a leadership role whose skin color is different, but ideas are the same as the majority in the room (e.g. Clarence Thomas, Michael Steel). Valuable diversity is when there are DIFFERENT IDEAS and APPROACHES to problem solving. I have found over the last 20+ years that because I don’t try to hide my ethnicity and I positively converse about my ethnicity as well as my colleagues, that people lower their barriers, hear what I have to say – and evaluate my contribution based upon my words and works, rather than my Hersey Milk Chocolate skin.

  • get real

    Absolutely. Before the first Presidental debate Fox news (Hannity, Tucker Carlson and the rest of the clan) were pushing this “angry black man” nonsense. They found a tape of him in 07 giving a speech and that’s why Obama was constantly looking down and smiling for no reason. He was trying to down play the “angry blk man” bs. But when on the job and u hear blk people talking in that white “suburban” accent (esp blk women who sound like Becky), you better watch out.

    • FAMURattler85

      Piggie backing off of what you said: I’m from Chicago and speak with a strong south side “blaccent”–which I actually like because I’m proud of who I am and where I’m from–but often find myself feeling like I have to speak in a “white tone” while mingling in the professional arena (which is very uncomfortable to do). Most of the time I want to say “f” it, if they don’t like the way I speak or the real me, then screw them, but I realize that my representative is who they are more comfortable with which could ultimately get me farther in the game. My true self may seem too “confrontational” (like Pres Obama in the last debate………*blank stare* rolls eyes), “angry”, “ghetto”, ignorant, and any and every other negative adjective associated with black women. It really sucks. Btw, if you want to hear a south side of Chicago “blaccent”, check out my video “Chicago Blaccent” on youtube. (Had to throw that in there)

      • Kayo Halana Malie

        What is a ‘white tone’? I think too often people confuse speaking properly with speaking like a White person.

        • FAMURattler85

          A “white tone” has nothing to do with speaking proper English. Black people generally have more bass in their voices whereas whites generally do not. That’s what I mean when I say “tone”. That is also what some people mean when they claim a black person is “speaking white”. However, I do agree that many confuse speaking with correct grammar as speaking white and vice versa.

          • Kayo Halana Malie

            I disagree. The experience of others and my own has shown that when someone tells a Black person that they are ‘speaking like a White person’ they almost always are referring to usage of proper grammar and diction.

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