Building Inclusivity in the Tech Industry with Dr. Dede Tetsubayashi
Break Concrete
It’s no secret that the tech industry has a diversity problem. Dr. Dédé Tetsubayashi, a product equity, inclusion and tech ethicist, joins to discuss how the lack of representation within tech adversely impacts product equity and user experiences, and how tech companies can be more inclusive. Dr. Dédé also shares how she educates and empowers individuals, groups, and communities through , a Black-woman-owned consultancy transforming organizations to be more inclusive in product design and processes. Topics Covered: How Dr. Dédé got started in the field as a technologist Causes...
info_outline
The Immigrant Experience: Challenges, Opportunities, and Impact in the Workplace with Jackie Glenn
Break Concrete
From a newly immigrated nanny to CEO, Jackie Glenn has embraced life’s challenges with boldness and humility, always being true to herself and giving back to those who come after her. It’s this commitment to helping others, which led Jackie to write her instructional biography, . Jackie discusses how she climbed her way up the corporate ladder and the character gems that brought her and other immigrants professional success in the American workplace. Topics Covered: Why Jackie decided to write Workplace challenges Jackie faced as an immigrant in the U.S. How your accent can...
info_outline
Overcoming Barriers to Career Advancement as a Woman of Color with The FLI Collective
Break Concrete
Women of color face unique gender and racial barriers to their professional advancement and are less likely to move into leadership roles. In today’s bonus episode, we speak to the women of The FLI Collective, a lifestyle podcast that deals with the experiences of being first generation and low income in academia. We examine some of these challenges and discuss strategies for advancing women of color, including when we should pursue stretch opportunities and how we lead and bring others along with us. Welcome Drs. Marlette Jackson, Edritz Javelosa, Nidia Ruedas-Gracia, Miranda Stratton, and...
info_outline
Turning Your Side Hustle into Your Full Time Gig with Beth Diana Smith
Break Concrete
Stuck on how to turn your passion project into so much more? After more than a decade in accounting and finance at companies like Morgan Stanley, Viacom, and Johnson & Johnson, Beth Diana Smith left her six-figure salary and the corporate world to launch her own interior design firm, . Her style is modern and eclectic with luxurious finishes and custom furnishings. Above all, her work is client-centric as she helps each homeowner hone in on their own style and create a space that inspires them and enhances their lifestyle. Beth chats about how she turned her side hustle into her full time...
info_outline
The Elusive Black Middle Class with Imari Smith
Break Concrete
With rising costs of living, steadily increasing debt, and stagnant wages, middle class Americans may find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. But is there even a Black middle class? Imari Smith, a doctoral student in Duke University’s Joint Program in Sociology and Public Policy, argues that the Black middle class is a “subaltern middle class”, just one tier of a marginalized group. The Black middle class has never reaped the benefits of their middle class status and continue to be subjected to the same harms faced by Black Americans of lower economic status. Find links and show...
info_outline
Valuing the Work We Do: Black Women's Unpaid Labor with Dr. Nina Banks
Break Concrete
Every year women perform thousands of hours and trillions of dollars of unpaid work. You’ve likely heard of the invisible daily household work women perform, but what about unpaid community activism performed by Black and Brown women? Dr. Nina Banks, an associate professor of economics at Bucknell University, argues that this collective activism places additional burdens on women of color that often go unrecognized and uncompensated. Through recognizing how Black women challenge racial oppression in their communities, we can reconceptualize Black women’s labor and their impact on the...
info_outline
Discriminatory or Simply Burdensome? Workplace Dress Codes with Professor Stacy Hawkins
Break Concrete
Many employers require their employees to follow workplace dress codes. Employers can regulate employees’ clothing, makeup, hairstyles, nails, and more. Your employer might even be able to regulate your weight. Although the line between discriminatory and simply burdensome may seem blurry, today, Professor Stacy Hawkins, Vice Dean and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School, joins to explain just how far a company dress code can go before crossing into unlawful discrimination. Find links and show notes at . Topics Covered: Defining authenticity The importance of bringing your whole Self to...
info_outline
The Problematic Politics of Style and Gender Identity in the Workplace with Doreen Pierre
Break Concrete
After spending over a year working from home, returning to the office and readjusting to your company dress code can be challenging. Today, Doreen Pierre, a Brooklyn based fashion writer, visual content creator, and events producer chats about how restrictive dress codes inhibit us from bringing our true Selves to work. Doreen’s work centers people of color and queer communities and has been featured in The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Virgin Media, DapperQ and more. Find links and show notes at . Topics Covered: Exploring the connection between fashion and identity How Doreen embraces the...
info_outline
Disrupting Patterns of Oppression in the Workplace with Dr. Maxine Davis
Break Concrete
Are you guilty of performative allyship? Today’s guest, Dr. Maxine Davis, a scholar, activist, and author, breaks down the pitfalls of performative allyship and how even well-meaning professionals can perpetuate oppression and social harms in the workplace. In early 2021, Dr. Davis authored an article in Nature Human Behavior, . We chat about Dr. Davis’s own experiences with anti-black practices in the workplace and recommendations for a more inclusive workplace. Find links and show notes at . Topics Covered: Defining cultural appropriation and how it shows up in the workplace How...
info_outline
Does Your Definition of Leadership Exclude Women of Color? with Dr. Marlette Jackson
Break Concrete
Far too often, we operate in workplaces where women of color leaders are lacking. However, that’s not because women of color lack leadership skills. Nor is it because of a lack of interest. Break Concrete is kicking off Season 4 with Dr. Marlette Jackson, a scholar, diversity and inclusion consultant, and co-author of the Harvard Business Review article, Dr. Jackson interrogates common leadership values and norms and how they exclude women of color. We talk about how organizations can expand their definition of leadership and assign value to qualities often overlooked or criticized...
info_outlineIf you’re a woman of color, you have more than likely experienced being the “only” in a professional setting. Perhaps, you were the only woman in a male-dominated boardroom or the only person of color on your company’s professional staff. In today's episode, Latisha Roberson, a Human Resources Executive with over 18 years of experience developing and implementing talent programs for non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 companies, chats about some of the unique challenges of being an only in the workplace and how she has leveraged her status as an only. Latisha is also the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Lead with Latisha LLC, which empowers women to navigate and ascend in their careers with confidence.
Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc035.
Topics Covered:
- Latisha’s experience being the “only” in the workplace
- Finding and building a supportive professional network and community
- Building camaraderie in the workplace
- Responding to offensive conduct and microaggressions in the workplace
- Managing when or whether to call out microaggressions
- Setting boundaries at work
- How to decline participating in workplace diversity initiatives when they detract from your professional responsibilities
- Navigating internal and external pressures of being the only in the workplace
- The value of having a business mentor or sponsor
- Leveraging your status as the only in the workplace
- The impact Kamala Harris’s Vice Presidency may have on how corporate America views Black women
- How companies can better incorporate diverse talent in the workplace
- Creating feelings of belonging in the workplace
Follow us on
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/breakconcrete/
Twitter https://twitter.com/BreakConcrete/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/breakconcrete/
E-mail feedback to [email protected].
If you like this episode, please leave a review and rating.