Tag: being black in the workplace

The working world is an interesting place for black women. I secured my first “real” job at 22. It was a research position. My PI was a polite and hardworking man with a thick English accent. That being said, there were other circumstances that made the job somewhat challenging. At the time, I didn’t have a car. The commute required me to take three buses to work. Often times, I would work longer than my scheduled hours. There was an incident in which someone posted an incredibly insensitive poster on the door of the graduate student office (I’m about 99% sure of who it was). The poster included an image of shackled AA slaves to emphasize “how PIs see graduate students”. Being the only AA in the lab, I complained and the poster was removed.

I can recount other instances throughout the years that have made my short working career pretty interesting. All I will say is that it adds another level of stress to already stressful jobs. I would be lying if I said that I am not envious of my coworkers who do not have the same struggles (be it due to race or gender/sex).

What are some macroaggressions you’ve had to deal with at work?