A Treasure Waiting to Be Mined

By William Raspberry
Monday, October 31, 2005



Why didn't she know?










She cited the example of another woman who became an amateur actor, thinking it would enhance her presentation skills. "The first time she decided to talk about her theatrical experience on the job, her white boss told her that he had expected some 'weird actress type' to walk in." Instead of the experience being a boost for her career, it became something to neutralize.

The article, based on a survey of 1,601 college-educated professionals (including 1,001 African American, Hispanic and Asian women) is not exclusively about outside activities. Many of the women said they felt implied pressure to look, sound and act like white male executives; or worried that their dress might be viewed as "too ethnic"; or even feared that their animated hand gestures might be perceived as somehow inappropriate.

But the differential value assigned to outside activities is especially intriguing.

The authors are part of a "hidden brain drain" task force that is trying to help 31 companies learn to see the overlooked strengths of their minority professionals -- to "re-imagine what we mean by inclusion."

"What we are trying to get them to understand is their tendency to look at the world through a white lens," Hewlett explains.

For instance: Colin Powell's extraprofessional work with America's Promise is the sort of thing that corporations automatically value, she said. "But when you look at the work of caring in the lives of many minority professionals, you are likely to find a focus on the nuclear and extended family -- family sometimes defined to include stepchildren, godchildren, and 'nieces' and 'nephews' with no blood ties.

"This isn't the sort of thing people feel encouraged to include in their rsums, but that doesn't mean it's not important."


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